Coming home
by Cheese1
Summary: Brennan misses Booth, who is on an assignment, but doesn't want to admit it, not even to herself. But then something changes and Brennan's world is upside down. Will she contact Booth? What happens when Booth comes home?
1. Chapter 1

Hi again, people. Yes, I'm nuts. And yes, I'm aware that I already have some ongoing stories, thank you very much. I also am a poor victim of a demonic muse that forces me to write whatever she throws at me. What else can I do, huh? No choice, really! I'm fighting aaaaaaaaaah writing for my life.

This story line may be a little clichéd, but it still begs to get written. I hope you'll like it. First time ever (for me ;) ) to write Brennan in first person. Hope it works out. Thank you in advance for reading, sweeties!

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Coming home…

Chapter 1

I gulped down a glass of cold water. I had been feeling off for some time now, but today it was even worse. My breakfast had not wanted to stay down and a throbbing headache was making it very hard to concentrate. I refused to let a little weakness of my body take precedence over my work, though. So, I had better get myself back to the remains I needed to identify. After all, though Booth was not here anymore, I still had work to do. I closed my eyes for a moment and leant back in my chair, thinking about how things had changed in the last few weeks.

The new liaison with the FBI was a female agent and that was just as well. I couldn't have stood it, if Booth's temporary replacement would have resembled him. She didn't and I was grateful for it…. although maybe elaborating on these rather irrational feelings would be bordering on psychology. I hate psychology, period, so I didn't want to go deeper into it.

I sighed and set the glass aside, eyeing the blank surface of my desk. Not a single paper marred the clean wood. Small wonder, since I've been working overtime the past few weeks…. I had probably gone through all my paperwork twice. Just to make sure there was no mistake. You could never be too precise.

I heard a noise from the doorway and looked up. "Sweetie, you look exhausted." My best friend addressed me, the expression on her face matching the worry in her voice.

"I'm fine." I gave back, refusing to even acknowledge that I was not. In fact, far from it.

"You've got to see a doctor, Bren. You've been cranky ever since Booth went on his assignment, but the last few weeks…. You look ill, Sweetie. I can tell you're not sleeping well. You lost weight and you're always so pale." Angela walked towards me, a concerned look on her face. I felt somewhat honored that she was concerned for my welfare, but still…

"Please. Go see a doctor. What can it hurt?" She repeated, her voice pleading.

"I have work to do, Ange." I gave back, but even to my own ears, my voice sounded unexpectedly weak.

"Not 24 hours a day, Sweetie. You have grad students to look over the basic things." Angela pointed out and I knew she was right. I didn't have to like it, though.

"Bren…. I promised Booth to look after you. You're not making it easy for me, really. What if Booth comes back and finds you like that? He would be angry with me for not taking care of you." Angela tried a different tactic. I managed a weak smile. "He wouldn't be angry with you, Angela. Maybe with me, but not with you. You just want to make me feel guilty enough to see a doctor."

"Well, yeah. But… is it working?" She asked hopefully, trying her best to make a pleading face… puppy-dog eyes people called that, if I didn't mix anything up – as I so often had before.

"Don't look at me like that." I addressed her and she blinked. "How?"

"As if I was giving you physical pain by not going to the doctor. Making me feel guilty is not going to work." I informed her. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Bren, would you go to the doctor as a personal favour to me?"

"A personal favour? I fail to see where there would be a benefit for you." I arched an eyebrow at her. Not a smart move, since it seemed to make the headache worse. I stifled a wince.

"I wouldn't have to worry that much… worrying makes my hair turn grey. There, you see!" She yanked at her hair. She'd dyed it a few days ago, so there surely was no trace of grey. But that didn'T stop her rant. "Your fault! If you see a doctor I would have less to worry about. Less grey hair, it's simple really. And you know I'm going to make your life miserable by pestering you until you go."

She made me laugh. Trust Angela to have an absolutely unscientific explanation, that still managed to sound somehow reasonable. And made me feel guilty, all wrapped up in one.

"Okay, okay. You win. I'm calling Dr. Krug. I'm sure he can make time for me." I promised.

"Do it." She urged me. "I'm not going to leave until you make that call."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes at her, although her obvious concern made me feel a little better than before. I hated to admit it even to myself, but I missed Booth's teasing. I missed that he was always concerned about my welfare…. Angela worrying about me was not the same, but still appreciated.

I reached for my notebook and searched for Dr. Krug's phone number, punched it in and waited for his secretary to answer. A few minutes later I had an appointment for the next morning before work. "Satisfied?" I asked my best friend after ending the call.

"A doctor's appointment at 7 in the morning. Only you would suggest that." She rolled her eyes at me. "Ah, well… better than nothing, right?" She nodded and turned towards the door, but stopped as if remembering something.

"You're not going to stay until midnight again, like you did yesterday." It sounded like an order and she gave me a stern look.

"Why do you know how long I've been here yesterday night?" I asked, surprised.

"I talk to people, Bren. Come on, you're not feeling well, you're allowed to go home at five like everybody else once in awhile. Especially when you look as pale as a ghost." She said and I shook my head at her words. "Ghosts do not exist." I felt obliged to inform her of that fact.

"Hm." She made and looked at me, as if examining me. "Could have fooled me. I swear it's hard to tell your face apart from the white wall behind you. Go home, Sweetie. Take a bath, rest and see the doctor tomorrow. You won't be any good to those dead people if you join them, huh?"

I blinked and processed her words. "I'm hardly going to work myself to death, Angela."

"I sure hope so. Prove it and go home early today." Again, there was a commanding tone in her voice. My head ached, I was tired and feeling a little nauseous. Maybe going home wasn't such a bad idea after all. "Okay." I said. "I'm going home after I finished examining the remains on the platform."

Her eyes narrowed a little. "The one set of remains that has been there since yesterday? The guy with the crushed skull?" Obviously she wanted to make sure there were no loopholes.

I refrained from correcting her about the exact damage to the skull. "Yes, that set of remains. It's going to take me one or two hours, not more. I promise to you that I'll be home by six, okay?" I offered.

"Okay." She nodded and I saw the expression of relief and satisfaction on her face. "You need to take care of yourself, Sweetie." She said and vanished. I listened to the clanking sound of her heels and sighed again. It was pathetic and very, very irrational…. But I missed Booth.

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Please let me know what you think!!!! Thanks a lot, everybody!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for taking the time to review on the first chapter. Glad you seem to like it so far, here is more ;)

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Coming home…

Chapter 2

Waiting was something I have never been good at. So having the first available appointment with Dr. Krug this morning really suited me. I was five minutes early, but so was he and because of that I was sitting on the visitor's chair at quarter past seven, looking expectantly at the physician, having had various tests already.

The physical examination had not shown anything out of the ordinary, except that obviously I had managed to lose five or six pounds within the last three weeks, which earned me a serious look and a stern "Eating is not a crime, Dr. Brennan. You're bordering on underweight."

"I was busy." I said, but he only shook his head. "Many people are busy. That is not an excuse to ignore the needs of your body. You know that in order to function properly you have to take care of yourself."

I nodded, not happy with the knowledge that he was right. "I know. Sometimes I forget to eat when I'm working. I'll try to do better." After all, the man who usually reminded me to eat, was not in DC. When had I started to depend so much on him, anyway?

The physician's computer made a chiming sound and he murmured. "That should be your test results."

For a few moments he stared at the screen then his gaze turned on me again. I saw in his eyes that he had found something, an explanation for my condition. I braced myself, but the question he asked took me by surprise.

"Dr. Brennan, you said that you had a irregular cycle, but do you remember the last time you had your period?" Dr. Krug asked. I shook my head. I had grown up with a rather irregular hormonal cycle, I was used not to think anything about weeks, even months without bleeding. I swallowed hard. Somehow I had the feeling that Dr. Krug's next question would not make me feel any better.

"Do you remember the last time you had intercourse?" He asked, the exact question I had been dreading to hear.

Although I was concerned, answering the question was quite easy. "Eight weeks ago." I said, frowning a little. I swallowed hard… I was so not liking where this conversation was headed. Not at all.

"Did you use some kind of birth control?" Dr. Krug's voice startled me.

"Of course." I swallowed hard. "We used condoms." Yes, we had used condoms. A considerable amount of them, too.

"Dr. Brennan…. As you may know, the standard tests include a pregnancy test. It came back positive." His voice was gentle, the phrasing polite and scientific. But what he said, scared me to the core.

"Are you… are you sure?" My voice sounded odd even to my own ears and my head ache had returned at full force.

"Yes, I'm sure. You are pregnant." He said. His statement seemed to echo in my ears, although I knew something like that was not possible. My brain tried to process all this, even providing the information, that the chances of getting pregnant with a cycle as unpredictable as mine were slim. And statistics show, that given the fact that we had used condoms, the chances were even lower. The problem was, every statistic has an exception.

"For a detailed examination and an ultrasound you would have to see a gynaecologist." Dr. Krug continued and I managed a weak nod.

I was supposed to be a genius. I had more than one doctorate, damn it. But I had been too stupid and ignorant to interpret the signs my body had been sending me for weeks. In the early months of pregnancy women often feel nauseous and tired and tend to suffer from so-called morning sickness. My brain supplied me with the information that had always sounded so distant and clinical. Now it was a detailed recapitulation of what I had experienced the last few weeks. Why hadn't I thought of this?

I blinked, realising that Dr. Krug was staring at me expectantly. "Sorry, what did you say?" I forced out.

"I understand that this is a big surprise to you, as you obviously did not plan to have a baby. I would recommend seeing a gynaecologist as soon as possible. As a physician I of course hope you will not…. take measures to terminate the pregnancy, but it is up to you. I would just advise you to think about it for a few days, Dr. Brennan. Hurried decisions are often those we regret most in our life. Take your time, make sure you eat healthy and regularly. Whatever you decide, do not ignore the demands of your body any longer." Dr. Krug gave me an understanding look and let his words settle in before he rose.

My brain seemed oddly numb, but I still managed to rise and shake hands with the physician. "Thank you for taking the time to see me." I forced out.

"Sure." Dr. Krug said and nodded. "Take care of yourself. Good bye."

"Good bye." I mumbled, gathered my purse and left his office. Pregnant. The one word had managed to turn my world upside down.

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I was lucky. Or as lucky as anybody can be in my situation, anyway. My gynaecologist had one appointment available at the very same day, at nine in the morning. I called Angela, said something about more tests and that I would be coming in later. Her concerned questions were cut off by my "I need to go, Ange."

Maybe it was not fair to leave her worrying about my health, wondering what kind of illness I could be suffering from, when in fact I was not ill. Just pregnant. Although where the 'just' was making my life any easier, I couldn't see at the moment.

Anxiously, I was sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Miller, waiting for her to see me. Although it was not logical, I still harboured a last bit of hope that Dr. Krug had been wrong and I was not pregnant. Why, I didn't know. After all, I was a scientist, science was what I believed in. And a pregnancy test was science. And quite simple science at that. Hoping that through some kind of miracle Dr. Krug had made a mistake clearly was very, very irrational. But desperation will do that to you.

Half an hour later a smiling Dr. Miller announced. "Congratulations, Dr. Brennan, you are pregnant."

I didn't want her congratulations, but I was too weak and shocked to object. Dr. Miller seemed to understand that I was not exactly happy with what she had told me. "The pregnancy was not planned, right?"

I gave her an annoyed look. "Not even the intercourse was planned, much less the pregnancy." I snapped, but caught myself an instant later. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Dr. Brennan. I understand that you are not completely yourself right now. Did you suspect being pregnant, was that why you came here today?" Dr. Miller asked.

"Dr. Krug already told me I was." I gave back, my voice flat. "He advised me to see a gynaecologist."

"Ah." She nodded. "So you already knew but… hoped it wouldn't be true."

Though it was somewhat embarrassing to admit she was right I nodded. "I'm glad you came here." Dr. Miller said and smiled understandingly at me. "I'm sure you know all about the possibilities you have now, Dr. Brennan. I just think you should wait a few days before deciding anything finale…."

"That's what Dr. Krug said, too." I interrupted her. "I'm going to take that advice. I would like a few days to…. process all this."

"Dr. Brennan…. Whatever you decide, I would like to prescribe vitamins for you. Even if you decide against going throw with this, a pregnancy puts a strain on your body and vitamins and fresh air will do you good. You should cut down your working hours too…. You seem exhausted. Think about what you want to do…..Why don't you come by in a few days, say maybe Friday? Or is that too soon?" The woman asked. I swallowed hard. Today was Tuesday.

"How long…. When do I have to make a final decision?" I asked, my voice trembling. I knew the answer, but I needed to hear it anyway.

"I will be honest with you, Dr. Brennan. The earlier, the better. In case you decide to terminate the pregnancy, it is advisable to do so in an early stadium of the pregnancy. You are already about eight weeks along, so you should not be waiting too long. I don't want to influence you in any way, but I would of course prefer to see you through your pregnancy. But, please do not make any rash decisions. If I were you, I would go home, lie down, try to recharge, as you are so obviously exhausted and think. Maybe contact the father, if you want to." Her voice was soothing, but her words made me tremble. Contacting the father. I closed my eyes briefly and sighed. If only things weren't that complicated.

"I will be back on Friday." My voice said, although I was not quite sure when I had made the decision. But it was a good decision, I thought. Why torment myself longer than necessary? There was no use in that. A few days should be enough time to assess the situation and find a solution. One of the big questions I had to find an answer to was, did I really WANT to contact the father? To let him know I was pregnant, before I even had made a decision if I would want to STAY pregnant? After finding the answer to that I could think about HOW to contact him, which wouldn't be easy. I swallowed hard, remembering the last time I had seen him. One night of saying good bye had changed everything. But it had been a very thourough good bye.

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As many of you expected, Brennan IS pregnant....

Soooo, what do you say, do you still like it? I sure hope so.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again. Wow, thank you all so much for your reviews, I'm really overwhelmed. You rock, sweeties! Here comes the next chapter, hope you'll like it.

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Coming home…

Chapter 3

I looked at my phone and sighed. Angela was calling…. Again. I knew she was worried and I had to admit to myself that I was being unfair and selfish for not answering the phone one of the previous five times it had been ringing. I had called Cam, told her that my doctor had advised me to stay home for the rest of the day and that had been it. I should have called Angela, I knew it…and felt guilty about it. But the problem was, Angela would sense that something was wrong and not simply accept my explanation that I needed a day to recharge.

She would know. I glanced at the phone again and set it aside. I could have turned it off, but somehow – although it made me feel very guilty – Angela's calls made me feel better. Somebody was worrying about me. It was precious… and the very thought made me realise that I was not treating my best friend the way she deserved. She deserved to know what she meant to me, how much I valued her and the fact that she was concerned about me. The phone vibrated again and I decided to answer it.

"Hey Angela." I said as I answered. "Sweetie… Are you okay? Where are you? I'm at your apartment, Cam said you called and said you would be home, resting, but you're not here and…. I was so worried."

Her ramble made me feel even more guilty, if possible. "I'm sorry, Ange. I needed fresh air. I'm at the park." I said, leaving out that I was not only at the park, but at the play ground, watching toddlers throw sand at each other. Watching children play on swings, laughing merrily. Watching their parents, wondering if I would be sitting there soon too.

I bit my lip at Angela's. "Ohhhh." Guilt, guilt, guilt. "I'm really sorry, Angela. I knew I should have called… but…" I hesitated, not quite sure what to say.

"It's something serious, right?" Her voice sounded calm, but I heard the concern in it. And as always, she had sensed that there was more to my words than what I had spoken. "Do you have time to meet me?" I asked after a moment. She was my best friend and I really needed somebody to talk to.

"I took the day off when Cam told me you were not coming in. I knew it had to be something serious for you not to come to work." Angela whispered.

"You're at my apartment?" I asked, remembering her words from earlier. "Yes." She answered simply.

"Stay there, will you? I'll be there soon." I suggested. "I will. I'll make coffee, hm?" Despite the worry in her voice, she tried to soothe me. "No… no coffee, thanks." I said, remembering that caffeine was not something the doctor recommended for pregnant women. Although I had not yet made a decision, I thought it could not hurt to avoid caffeine and alcohol. "Hot chocolate?" She asked. "Chocolate is comfort food, huh?"

"Then hot chocolate would be a comfort drink?" I asked, thankful for the distraction.

"Yep." She made and I nodded. Realising she would hardly be able to see it, I added. "Hot chocolate sounds good. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"See you then." My best friend gave back and I ended the call and threw the phone in my purse. I gave the play ground in front of me another long, measuring look, before turning around and walking towards my car.

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Angela had hugged me tight, concern edged in her features when I had arrived at my apartment. Patiently she had waited until I had gotten rid of shoes and jacket, had handed me a mug filled with delicously smelling hot chocolate.

Now we were sitting on the couch side by side and she clearly was waiting for me to tell her how horrible the diagnosis was, barely containing the questions she surely wanted to ask. I sighed and looked at her, trying to make it quick. "I'm not sick." I simply said. Blunt and to the point, that was me.

She blinked in surprise, clearly stunned and - for once - speechless.

"I'm pregnant." I continued and she nearly dropped her mug. "Pregnant." She repeated, her voice a croak. Her eyes darted to my mid-section and I knew what she was thinking. Or at least, I could make an elaborate guess, although I never had been much for guessing and - equally - never had been good at reading people.

"Eight weeks." I said and sighed again.

"Are you… are you going to keep it?" Her question uttered in a somewhat anxious tone surprised me, I had thought she would ask about the father first.

"I'm not sure yet. The doctor told me to think about it and I will." I laughed. It was not a happy laugh, though. "She told me to contact the father too… If I want to."

"It would only be fair, I guess." Angela swallowed hard and gave me a measuring look. "If you want to, that is. Who… who is the father?"

Pain ripped through me and I smiled sadly at her. "What is the most complicated situation you can think of right now? Especially regarding contacting the father."

"Booth." She whispered and hearing his name did it. My emotions overwhelmed me and the tears that had refused to come earlier, suddenly filled my eyes, streamed down my cheeks and a sob tore itself from my throat. I was a little astonished at myself, but I could not control the tears nor the pain.  
"Yes." I croaked and then, I didn't say anything else for hours. Angela, wonderful friend that she was, held me, let me cry and whispered soothing words. They did not help, but she did all she could and I was grateful I had somebody to turn to, somebody to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be alright. Even if it was not true and I knew it.

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Soooooooooooooooo what do you think about this story so far? I hope you like it! And... Booth is the daddy, as so many of you guessed. Really, as if I could have her anybody else's baby. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, I'm glad so many people seem to like this story so far. I hope you'll like the following chapter too.

Coming home…

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Chapter 4

Glumly I looked at my mug of – formerly – hot chocolate and sighed. My eyes felt swollen and my face and nose hot from crying and I sniffled. Angela wordlessly took our mugs and went into the kitchen with them, presumably to reheat the content. A few minutes later she returned and placed the mug in my hand. "Drink" She ordered. My brain seemed oddly numb and I obeyed without obligation. The hot chocolate tasted good – and as Angela had promised – somehow comforting.

"You know, Sweetie, whatever you do, I'll be there for you." Angela told me, the expression on her face sincere and her voice gentle. And I knew she meant what she said. Despite the fact that she was not fond of abortion – as she had told me more than once – she would support me if I decided to terminate the pregnancy, because she was my friend. The best friend I ever had – except maybe Booth. But Booth was not here. And he was more than just a friend.

"I know, Ange. Thank you." I addressed my best friend and she smiled her compassionate and gentle smile at me. I glanced at her again and suddenly noticed that she had been crying too. I did not know how I deserved to have a friend like her but I was thankful she was here.

"Do you want to distract yourself or talk about it now?" She asked, obviously prepared to go through with either plan as soon as I told her to.

I sighed. "Talk. I don't want to, but I guess it's inevitable. I have to find a solution"

"Do you want to contact Booth? Or do you want to decide what to do first?" Angela - as always – found the one important variable in the equation.

"I'm not sure what to do. I know that it will not be easy to contact him. In fact, I'm not sure if Cullen would let me." I sighed, absently tracing the design on my mug with my index finger.

"I thought you said that there is some way to contact him in case of an emergency." Angela threw in.

"Yes. I'm not familiar with it, but Booth mentioned it to me. In case something happened to his family." I nodded.

"Sweetie….. don't you think his child qualifies as family? And don't you think this decision qualifies as emergency?" Angela asked softly.

I closed my eyes upon hearing her words. His child. That sounded… so unfamiliar. 'His child' had always meant Parker. Now there was a second meaning to that. I drew in a deep breath.

"I'm not quite sure what to do now." I heard myself say. I opened my eyes and looked at Angela. "I don't know if I want to go through with the pregnancy or not. And I'm not sure if I should….. contact Booth before I have made this decision."

"I know you probably don't want to hear that right now, Sweetie…but…. Doesn't he have the right to know about the pregnancy and help you deciding what to do?" She asked.

I moistened my lips and sighed again. I did a lot of that lately, huh?

"I just don't know what to do, Angela. I know Booth is a good father to Parker… but I never really wanted to be a mother, you know. I don't know if Booth would react positively to the pregnancy, but what if he does but I don't want to go through with it? He… he would hate me." My voice trembled.

"Sweetie!" Angela's eyes were huge. "I don't think Booth could ever hate you. But…. You have to tell him about the pregnancy, even if you go for an abortion. It is his child, too. It just wouldn't be right not to say anything. And it would….it would not be good for your relationship to keep such a secret."

"He's not here, Ange. It's my decision to make." I said.

"You're afraid." My best friend stated.

"Of what?" I asked, instead of blurting 'I'm not', which would have been my first impulse, my usual defensive retort. But my defences were weakened and Angela would be able to see right through me anyway.

"You're afraid of being rejected, aren't you? You said you fear Booth would want the child and you wouldn't and that he would hate you for that, but I don't think that's the real problem here. Booth might react hurt and be angry at you if you terminate the pregnancy, but there is nothing in this world that would make him HATE you." She said. I swallowed hard as she continued. "I think, Bren…. that you consider having this baby and you fear HE would not want it. You're afraid he wouldn't want to be a father to your child and reject you and the baby."

"He is the father." I nearly yelled.

"Biologically, yes. But what really, really counts is the father that is there for you, the father that raises you, the father that tucks you in at night and makes sure there are no monsters under your bed." Angela's words nearly brought new tears to my eyes. "You don't want to admit it, Sweetie…. But you want him to be there for you, right? To help you with the baby. You want him to come back and be a real daddy to that child."

"I can raise a child on my own." I said, not acknowledging her words. "I'm perfectly able to provide everything a child requires………. I'm not sure if I want to, that's all."

"Is that so?" Angela asked softly. "You didn't want coffee and you bought pregnancy vitamins."

My gaze swivelled to hers. "I saw them, they fell out your purse." She smiled knowingly.

"What are you hinting at?" I frowned at her.

"You care." She softly said. "You can picture a future with this baby." She pointed at my abdomen.

"Maybe." I admitted hesitantly. Uncomfortable silence settled over us as I closed my eyes and pictured my future. With or without child, that was the question.

"When did you and Booth start sleeping together, anyway? I never suspected it." Angela's question interrupted my thoughts.

"We didn't." I gave back. Angela gave me a long look. "Yeah, right. How did you get pregnant then, huh?"

"No, no I mean…. You couldn't have suspected anything, because…. We didn't sleep with each other before the night before he had to leave. It…. we knew we wouldn't see each other for months and….it was good bye." I rambled. Angela blinked at me. "Ho boy. You're saying the stud impregnated you on the first and only try. Talk about potent."

"Angela!" I rolled my eyes at her. "First of all, I didn't try to get pregnant. We used condoms."

"As in plural?" Curiosity shone bright in her eyes and she made me laugh. It felt good to be able to laugh, and if it was only for a moment.

"Yes, as in plural. If you must know it, he spent the night." Memories of my one and only night of hot sex with Seeley Booth arose and I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly going dry.

"You've got a dreamy look on your face. So, it was THAT good, yeah?" Angela asked.

"Oh yes." I nodded as I replayed the night in my head. And suddenly I knew how I had ended up pregnant. "Damn."

"What damn?" Angela wanted to know.

"I told you we used condoms. We did. But… we took a shower together in the morning and…." When I closed my eyes I could nearly feel his hands travelling down my back, our skin slick with soap, his strong arms coming around me….. Ah, better not go there.

"You forgot about the condom. Yeah, hot shower sex can do that to you." Angela nodded understandingly. "But you gotta admit that it's quite impressive you got pregnant that easily."

"Impressive, right. That was the first word that sprang to mind." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Oh, cut out the sarcasm, sweetie. I'm just saying…. I mean, you spent one night together and only once you forgot to use a condom… and I know your cycle is pretty mixed up most of the time, so… the chances of you getting pregnant were pretty slim, huh?" Angela reached the same conclusion I had earlier that day. Then she added a meaningful. "Maybe it was meant to be." Okay, I hadn't reached THAT conclusion by myself. And I found it rather ridiculous.

"Things are not meant to be. There is no such thing as…. Fate." I felt obliged to inform her.

"You think?" She gave me a long look and continued. "Believe whatever you want, Sweetie… but fact is, that you are pregnant with his child…. As improbable as it is."

"I know." I said miserably.

"So he came to your apartment and what? You just decided to jump each other? With or without declarations of love?" Angela asked curiously.

"Ange." I sighed and shook my head.

"What? I'm curious…. Come on I had to watch that tragedy for years, sweetie. YEARS. You were dancing around each other and never once you had the guts to admit what you two are to each other… and then you finally end up having sex and you don't want to tell me a little bit? That's cruel." Angela gave me her pleading look.

"We … had sex, Angela. For one night. That's it. And now I'm pregnant. That's all the information that is important." I said defensively. My serious retort seemed to sober her a little. For a few minutes she just watched me, sat there and stared at me with that meaningful look on her face.

"Booth loves you, Sweetie." She said and I nearly jumped off the couch. "What! Why do you say something like that?" I yelled. I yelled? That surprised even myself and I blinked in astonishment at my outburst.

"Because it's true. And you know it or you wouldn't react like that." My best friend calmly said.

I sank back on the couch and swallowed hard.

"He said it, right?" Angela whispered.

I could only nod as I recalled how Booth had looked at me, his brown eyes full of emotion I had not been able to interpret until he spelled it out for me. We had been standing at the door of my apartment, the very moment we really had to say good bye.

"I'm coming back." He had said after he had given me a long kiss. "It might take months, but I'll do my best to come back to you. I love you. Take care, Temperance." Then he had placed another kiss on my lips and I had been to stunned to do anything but return it. Then he had left.

And ever since that moment eight weeks ago I regretted that I had been too surprised and insecure to tell him that I loved him too.

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Sooooooo, what do you think, did you like the girl talk?

Reviews would be AWESOME!


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, thank you all so much!!! So many reviews! I'm glad you like the story so far. I'm quite busy these days, so I fear I wont be able to update as often as I want to….. I hope you understand. Here we go, the next chapter is ready.

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Coming home…

Chapter 5:

I sighed and dipped my head back into the warm water that surrounded me, soaking my hair, trying to relax. My neck was a little stiff and my back hurt, so a bath had sounded good. It felt soothing, but I didn't reach complete relaxation. Considering the thoughts that occupied my brain, it didn't surprise me that much. I had to decide what to do about my pregnancy and that was the kind of thoughts you couldn't just simply banish or brush aside. I closed my eyes, willing my mind to go blank, but I didn't succeed. Memories of the night I had spent with Booth emerged and the moment he had said good bye replayed itself in my head over and over again.

There had been emotion in his eyes, emotion I now knew had to be love and pain. Pain about being forced to leave. Love for me. I couldn't quite believe it, but Seeley Booth would never lie to me about something like that. I knew that much, so I had to accept it as the truth. I swallowed hard.

My former partner, my best friend aside Angela, the man I trusted most…… loved me.

And we had created a life together… not with intention, but that didn't change the outcome, did it? And although I had never really felt something like that before, I had had enough time in this eight weeks without him to recognize that missing someone that much had to mean I loved him too. There were times I felt like somebody had taken away everything from me, although I still had so much.

I had my home, my friends, a profession that challenged me every day and never lost it's fascination. But still, something vital was missing and that something was Booth. I had never quite accepted or acknowledged that he had become the most important person in my life until he had been gone.

When we had discussed him going on this assignment he had asked me if I was going to miss him and I had said yes, of course I would be missing my partner. I had not known I was going to be missing him with all my heart, though. The thought was kind of scary, but there was nothing I could change about it. You can not force yourself to fall OUT of love, I guess.

And now here I was, pregnant with his child and not quite sure what to do with my future. Unlike Angela I was not sure if Booth would ever forgive me for having an abortion. Hell, I was not quite sure if I would ever be able to forgive myself.

Would the child favour me or Booth, I wondered. Would it have brown or blue eyes?

And then I blinked as the sudden realisation hit me. I had given the child a face. Sure, it was nothing more than an imagination, but still…. Foetus, that was a safe term. Scientific, clinical, detached. But I had been wondering if the baby would look like me or Booth.

I knew that Booth's first child had inherited his smile, but not his looks and I wondered if this time it would be different. Parker's laughing face appeared in front of my inner eye and despite the warm water surrounding me I suddenly felt cold, imagining I would be killing a foetus that might grow up to be like him. Such a bright and beautiful boy, acting so much like his father it hurt to see him sometimes.

I had given the child a face and had left the safety that thinking about a foetus, nothing more than an egg and a sperm, a cellular structure, had provided.

A person. A tiny person. Suddenly tears filled my eyes, but I accepted them, even welcomed them, just as I suddenly welcomed the growing life in my womb.

Twelve hours after learning that I was pregnant, lying in my bath tub surrounded by rose-scented bathing water, I had made my decision.

I was going to keep this baby. And I had a father to contact.

I was dreading the next morning, but I knew it was inevitable. The next day I would have to see Cullen and tell him that I had to contact Booth. And I would have to explain why. I sighed. Nothing was simple anymore.

The next morning I called Cam again, informed her that I had to take care of something before coming to work. She accepted it, even told me to stay home another day if I didn't feel well enough to come to work yet. I thanked her, but told her that I was fine.

Mentally, I made a note that I now had to decide to keep one grad student and train him as good as possible in the following months. Although I intended to work as long as possible I couldn't picture myself bending over remains one a scene when nine months pregnant. Come to think of it, I couldn't even picture myself nine months pregnant at all. But that was what was going to happen. I took in a deep breath. I had made a decision. Now I had to go through with it.

My next call was to Angela. I informed her about my decision and after listening to her delighted congratulations for some time, I told her not to let anybody know about my pregnancy yet. She huffed a little, but agreed. When I told her my next step was to see Cullen to try to contact Booth she even offered accompanying me, but I declined. There were things I had to do alone. Facing Booth's boss was one of them.

At seven thirty in the morning I was checking my appearance in the mirror one last time before leaving my car and heading into the Hoover building. I didn't have an appointment with Cullen, but I was quite sure he was going to make an exception with me. He might not like me, but he respected me and valued the cooperation of the Jeffersonian Institute highly. At least of that, I was sure.

I just wished I had a little more confidence and was less nervous about his reaction. It was of course completely irrational to be afraid, to be nervous. But I had hormones to blame it on, at least.

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Sooooo, please let me know if you like it or not!!! Reviews are more than only welcome! THANK YOU!


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all. Wow thank you so much for your reviews. So glad you like the way Temperance made her decision and of course the decision itself. Here we go, this chapter is a little longer!

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Coming home…

Chapter 6:

"Dr. Brennan." Deputy Director Cullen offered his hand and I took it, shaking it briefly. "Take a seat." He addressed me and I did as I was told. "Why are you here?" Cullen asked, blunt and to the point. Well, two could play that game.

"I need to contact Booth." I simply said.

"That's not possibly. If it would be an emergency regarding his family, I could contact him… but I don't think that is the case…" Cullen hesitated and gave me a long look.

"Actually it is about his family. Yesterday I learned…. that he is going to be a father again." I forced the words out quickly, waiting for Cullen's reaction.

"Is he now?" Cullen's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't even know he had a girlfriend." He sighed. "Who is it?"

I blinked. I knew Deputy Director Cullen and he was not a fool. Usually he was quite apt at conductive logic. Apparently, Booth and me having a relationship was not something he would consider at all.

I had known he didn't like me, but that he obviously didn't regard me as a woman stung a little.

I shook my head in disbelief and made no attempt at hiding the acid note in my voice when I told him. "Deputy Director Cullen, what makes you think that a possible girlfriend of Booth would decide to confide in me regarding something as personal as a pregnancy?"

Cullen looked at me, no, it was more a stare and I saw color leave his face the same time realisation entered his eyes. "You?" He croaked.

His eyes travelled over me, pausing on my abdomen. "I know I'm not showing yet." I said. "But I'm pregnant."

Cullen sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "I …. I wouldn't have thought Booth would be that unprofessional." He clenched his teeth.

"He wasn't and he isn't. Our relationship was strictly professional until the evening before he went on his assignment." I felt obliged to inform him. That he questioned Booth's professionalism was something I couldn't just let go.

Cullen's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh." He cleared his throat. "So, eight weeks?" Obviously he was not really comfortable discussing my pregnancy with me. Well, I was not thrilled either.

"Yes. If you do not believe me, I guess I could have my gynaecologist confirm it." I offered, but just as I had expected him to, he waved the thought off, an almost horrified expression on his face.

"No, that won't be necessary." He paused for a moment. "Why do you want to contact Booth?"

I blinked, somewhat stunned. "He has a right to know." I simply said.

"I understand that…." Cullen paused. "But, what do you expect me to do now? I don't want to risk the whole assignment because you want to tell him you're pregnant."

I held my breath for a moment, concentrating on letting it back out steadily, calming myself. Essentially only keeping myself from yelling. "He needs to know!" I said, narrowing my eyes at Cullen's boss.

"What do you think that would accomplish? Do you think he's going to rush back? He can't just leave his assignment, but I don't think he would, anyway. He had no problems leaving behind his son for an undetermined period of time, I doubt he's going to come back because you tell him you're knocked up after a one-night stand." Cullen's harsh words left me stunned, shocked, speechless for a moment.

Then anger bubbled up and I made no attempt at hiding it. Maybe anger was to mild a word…. It felt more like rage. Fury, even.

"You obviously don't know him at all. He didn't just leave Parker behind, he had no choice!" I yelled at Booth's boss, my fists clenched at my side and I knew the anger I felt on Booth's behalf had to be showing on my face. The fact that Cullen had so easily labelled what had happened between Booth and me a one-night stand only fuelled the fire.

The Deputy Director narrowed his eyes at me and answered. "I offered him this undercover assignment, but I thought he would say no, because of his son. He said yes. He had a choice."

"No, he didn't." I shook my head. "Booth is a great father, he would never just leave Parker without a good reason. He just accepted the offer because he needed the raise that came with it. He needed the money." I desperately tried to calm down, thinking that my anger would not help me nor Booth and certainly wouldn't be good for the baby.

Cullen blinked, then he leant back in his chair and regarded me with a long measuring look. "Calm down, Dr. Brennan. Then I would appreciate it, if you could explain all this to me. Why does Booth need money?"

I sighed and willed myself to calm down a little. That wasn't so hard to accomplish…. Thinking back to what had lead Booth to accept Cullen's offer made me feel sad.

"You know he has a son. His name is Parker and he's seven years old." I began and Cullen nodded, then motioned for me to continue.

"Rebecca – that is Parker's mother – and Booth's son were in a car accident about five months ago. Thankfully, Parker only fractured his right ulna." Cullen raised an eyebrow. "He broke his arm." I rephrased and Cullen nodded. "But Rebecca was not that lucky. She fractured…'" I paused and decided to avoid the medical jargon. "She broke both her legs and had a severe injury to her back. Now she's paraplegic from the waist down."

Cullen's face showed compassion. "I'm sorry… but I'm not sure what that has to do with Booth's decision of going on that assignment. I would have thought this would make him want to stay even more."

I moistened my lips and continued. "The accident was caused by a fifteen year old who had 'borrowed' his father's car. The insurance companies are still arguing."

"After five months?" Cullen muttered. "They haven't seen a single cent so far, right? Damn insurances."

I nodded. "Rebecca needs therapy, needed to move because there was not enough space for the wheelchair in her old apartment. Her mother is living with her now to help her and Parker, but Rebecca won't be able to go back to work, at least not in the near future…"

"They have next to near income." Cullen summed it up.

I nodded again. "Rebecca's insurance company won't pay, the other insurance company says that it's the teenager's parents fault that he even had opportunity to take the car so they should pay. They're poor people, Deputy Director. Even if finally a decision is made, if the boy's parents have to pay, they would have to sell everything they own and it still wouldn't be enough."

I watched Cullen close his eyes and shake his head.

"So, when you offered Booth this assignment with a fifty percent raise, he accepted." I said. I left out the part that I had offered to pay for Rebecca's care. Booth had been shocked, obviously too proud to accept this kind of help from my side. I stifled a sigh.

Cullen gave me another long measuring look. "I know you're wealthy." So he had guessed correctly that I had offered Booth support. The remark was nowhere near polite, but I didn't require politeness, so I just nodded. "He didn't want my financial help. I think he is too proud. Rebecca and I …. we get along, but I don't think she would have been too happy with me paying for her. The money would have had to go through Booth and he didn't want it."

"Hard-headed idiot." Cullen muttered.

"What?" I stared at the Deputy Director.

"You and I may not exactly be friends, Dr. Brennan. But I understand that you care about Booth. So do I. I should have seen that something was wrong. I apologise for my words earlier." I nodded my acceptance of his apology, although we both knew I would never forget what he had said, and he continued. "I don't understand why he didn't say anything. I wondered about the reason for him accepting my offer. Now I know. Stubborn fool." He shook his head again. "He should have said something. The department would have found a way to support him until the argument between the insurances was settled. And our interference would have sped up the process, I'm sure of that."

His words surprised me. "I… don't think Booth knew he would receive this kind of support."

Cullen shook his head again. "He's my best agent. I want him in this office when I retire. It's years away, but still…. Of course he gets support." The older man gave me a long and thoughtful look.

"I can't pull him off the case now."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued. "I want to, really, Dr. Brennan. But you have to understand that this can not be my decision. Booth has been working his way into that group for eight weeks now and he's doing good. His contact man accepts and trusts so far and we can't just throw all that hard work away."

I thought about a possible objection, but once again the Deputy Director was quicker than me. "It's kiddy porn, Dr. Brennan. Booth's trying to get that sick bastards in jail." My eyes widened and I understood. Children. Abused, exploited children. I remained silent.

"Booth's been acting as a costumer for these sick videos for weeks. He thinks they might approach him to attend to…." I could see Cullen's jaw clench before he continued. "… to the real thing soon."

I had to close my eyes and swallow hard to keep myself from retching. My stomach had been unsettled by the early stage of pregnancy, but the mere imagination of Booth having to act as if he was interested in pornographic videos of children, even go to such an 'event' made me want to gag even more.

"My God." I whispered, feeling both sorry for Booth and disgusted by the sick people who's trust he was trying to earn.

Cullen nodded. "We have the DVDs, Dr. Brennan. We have a lot of material, but we don't know where these bastards are hiding and doing their filming. If Booth manages to get a location, we can bust this thing. We can arrest all of them, not only Booth's contact man….and a lot of children wouldn't have to suffer anymore."

"I understand." I whispered. And I did. Booth's work was important. I could not expect him to come back and simply let these poor children suffer. Let child abusers go free because I was pregnant. In the grand scheme, my pregnancy was something small and irrelevant…. But Booth's work had impact on many lives.

"I can't pull him off the case, Dr. Brennan." Cullen said, his voice almost gentle.

"I understand." I repeated, my voice flat. "I really do." That didn't stop the tears that had started to gather in my eyes at the prospect of not having Booth back anytime soon. Angela had been right…. I had been hoping for him to come back instantly and be there for me.

"I can contact him, though. Let him know … about the situation." He gave my midsection a meaningful glance. "It's up to you." I swallowed hard and it took me only a few moments to make my decision on that.

"Don't tell him." I swallowed hard. "It would only distract him and endanger him even more. He has enough to worry about." My voice sounded odd forming the words I didn't want to say, but I knew it was better that way. "I wanted him to know, but now I understand it would be too dangerous. And I'd rather have him back alive." I closed my eyes and recalled his last words to me before he had left. He had said he would give his best to come back to me. Well, so could I.

I opened my eyes again after a moment and focussed on Booth's boss. "You could do me a favour, though." I watched him hesitate and with a sad smile I added. "It's more a favour for Booth, anyway." He nodded. "Tell me."

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So, what do you think? Reviews would be awesome!

Christmas time is busy time.... so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again... thanks for understanding ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everybody. I want to apologize for leaving you waiting that long, but I've been sick. The flu kept me in bed for 17 days in total these past three weeks. (I thought I had made it through the whole thing, then I got ill again. sigh). So, I hope you can understand that I was not really in the mood or condition to write. But now, things seem to be getting better again….. So here we are with the next chapter on Coming home.

I want to thank all my reviewers SO MUCH!!! Thanks! Usually I answer every review personally, but this time I think I might have overlooked some… I'm sorry, I hope you can understand.

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Coming home…

Chapter 7:

It was nearing 9 am when I finally had parked my car and the elevator headed up to the Jeffersonian's entrance hall. There was a chiming sound as the doors slid open and I stepped out of the car into a unusually busy entrance hall. About a dozen of people hustled around and gave me astonished looks but soon greeted me with "Good morning, Dr. Brennan" or similar.

I wondered briefly, why they seemed so astounded upon seeing me, but then I suddenly realised that the entrance hall was NOT unusually busy. No, I was unusually late and people who worked at the Jeffersonian every day hardly ever saw me enter or leave. Especially these past eight weeks since Booth had left, I had been working very long hours and hardly ever came out of the lab.

Sure, my replacement partner had dragged me out to crime scenes four or five times, but there was a big difference between me rushing out with my team, carrying a lot of gear and me coming in to clearly just start for the day at nine in the morning. This was unusual and that was why people stared at me.

Another realisation hit me when I nodded at two women greeting me. I knew none of them by name. People who worked here day in day out and the only face that seemed familiar to me was that of the security guard, because he sometimes worked night shifts. Somehow shocking.

Since Booth had left I had started to work at six in the morning, sometimes staying until midnight to drive home for a few measly hours of restless sleep, a shower, change of clothes and sometimes a breakfast. Breakfast usually consisted of an energy bar and coffee. I had pushed and pushed myself, trying to keep myself busy enough to be able to ignore that I missed Booth so much it hurt.

I briefly closed my eyes as I entered the lab and familiar scents and sounds engulfed me.

My life had to change. I didn't mind pushing myself, but now I had somebody else to think of. A tiny being was growing in me and I had no right to risk his or her life. It was a simple as that, I realised. I had to look after myself, I had to make sure I ate and slept regularly because I was pregnant and pushing me too hard would be selfish and risky.

I opened my eyes and the familiar sounds and scents were joined by the familiar view of a busy lab. The lab that was more home to me than my own apartment. Angela spotted me and flashed me a big, toothy smile in greeting. "Hey sweetie!!! How are you?"

"Hi. I'm okay, Ange." I answered and resumed walking towards my office to tell her about my meeting with Cullen. There was no need to tell her to follow me, her curiosity made sure of it, I knew that from experience.

In my office, I sank on my chair and let out a deep sigh as Angela closed the door and closed out the sounds of a busy morning in the lab.

"You look better today, Sweetie." She said after giving me a long, assessing look. "Sleeping for more than five hours does wonders for your complexion."

I arched a brow at her questionable and a little sarcastic compliment, knowing that after my trip to the bathroom at the Hoover building and spending ten miserable minutes retching I surely did NOT look good. But she'd last seen me with tear-swollen eyes and a blotchy face, so maybe her standards for good complexion were a little low today.

Angela sat down on my visitor's chair and gave me another long look, then asked. "How did it go with Cullen?"

I sighed and wondered for a moment if I should give her the debriefed or the full version. She saw my hesitation and reached over the desk to grab my hand. "You can tell me, Bren." Her compassionate tone made the decision easier. The full version, it was. I needed someone to talk to, anyway. Who better than my best friend?

So, I went through my meeting with Cullen and smiled at my best friend as she growled angrily upon hearing what Cullen had said in the beginning of the encounter.

"He called it a one night stand? And what he said about Booth! What an ass! I thought he was okay. Damn." She shook her head, a scowl on her face. I patted her hand and explained that he had apologised for it later, but her scowl did not fully vanish. I understood her reaction. After all, Cullen's words had stung and though I had accepted his apology, I would never forget what he had said. We would never become best friends, that was for sure.

But I had a best friend, so what did it matter. A best friend who listened to my recapitulation of my visit at Cullen's office with genuine anger and concern, sadness – when Rebecca's condition came up – and finally disgust and shock when I told her about Booth's assignment. (After she swore to keep silence about it, of course)

"My God." She whispered, her face pale. "Poor Booth. I'm glad he at least gets some good news, he'll need it. This got to be hell for him."

"What good news?" I asked, a little confused.

"Well. You, him, baby." Angela blinked and pointed towards my abdomen.

"Ah, I told Cullen not to inform him." I said.

"What?" Angela's eyes widened in confusion, then concern entered them. "You.. didn't change your mind, did you?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't change my mind. But Booth is in great danger as it is. He doesn't need another distraction, another thing to worry about. I will go through with this pregnancy on my own. And when he comes back… well, we will see how he reacts." I shrugged, trying to make light of it.

My best friend watched me through narrowed eyes. "I will go with you to your appointments. You'll need somebody to be there for you and as long as Booth can't be the one, I'll try to replace him as good as I can." She stated after a moment.

I was stunned, speechless for a moment. I had thought she'd tell me that it wasn't fair to withhold that kind of information from Booth, but instead she offered to be a shoulder to lean on. I got rid of my surprise in an instant and smiled at Angela. "Thank you, Ange. You're a wonderful friend. It would be great to have you with me…." Only after the words were out I realised that the prospect of having to go through all the appointments and preparations on my own had worried me subconsciously. I should have known that Angela would be there for me.

"That's what friends are for, Sweetie. And maybe you won't need me all that long…. Booth may be coming home in a few weeks, right?" She squeezed my hand and I nodded, though I didn't share her optimism out of pure self protection. I had to prepare for the worst, so that there would be no shattered hopes. It could take Booth many months to come home, but I had no doubt he would come home one day. He had promised to do his best and I trusted him.

Angela interrupted my thoughts with her next question. "So what happened then?"

I cleared my throat. "I asked Cullen to do me a favour. Well, more a favour for Booth."

"And that favour is?" She asked, curiously.

"Parker's birthday is next week. I asked Cullen to make it possible for Booth to call him. Preferably with video. Booth needs to see his son, he needs to see something good. And Parker needs his Dad." I told her.

"Oh, sweetie." Angela gave me a sad smile. "That's really thoughtful of you. Did he say yes?"

I nodded. "He promised he'll do his best to make sure Booth has spare time and access to a suitable computer at a safe location next Wednesday, five pm. No guarantees, though. I'll visit Rebecca and Parker, so we can use my laptop. I would have visited Parker anyway to give him his present."

"So, you'll see Booth too." Angela stated the obvious. I swallowed hard. "Yeah." I breathed. The mere thought of seeing him, hearing his voice made me almost nervous. "But I can't tell Parker or Rebecca. Parker would be disappointed if things change, he wouldn't understand. Cullen told me to keep quiet, take my laptop with me and connect it to the internet. If Booth is able to contact us, he will. If not…" I sighed and suppressed a shudder.

"He'll call, you'll see. And he will be very thankful that you did that for him and Parker." Angela nodded encouragingly.

"I hope so. I really do." I took in a deep breath. "Ah, well…. No use wondering about it now, right? I have work to do. I have to see Cam, too."

"You'll tell her?" Angela asked, a little surprised.

I nodded. "I would have to tell her sooner or later anyway…. But I have to choose one of the students now, train him or her, because I'll have to cut down my working hours, especially in the last weeks of the pregnancy."

"No, Bren…. you'll have to start working like normal, regular people instead of a maniac." Angela grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "I know, I know. Regular meals, enough sleep and no stress."

"I'll make sure of it." Angela said and her voice held the distinct note of threat.

"I know." I smiled at her and rose. "I have to see Cam now." Then I paused before reaching for the door handle. "I have an appointment with my gynaecologist. Friday, five in the afternoon."

"If you want me there, I'll be there, Sweetie." Angela said, just as I knew she would.

"That would be great." I answered. "Thank you."

"You're like a sister to me, Bren. I'll be there whenever you need me." Her tone was sincere and the expression on her face remembered me of my mother when she'd told me she'd always be there for me, because that's what mothers do. One of the few memories I had of my mother was that look and now I saw it mirrored on the face of my best friend. Without thinking twice I grabbed her, hugged her tightly for a brief moment. She didn't say anything, but the moment did not require words. Sometimes, I thought, actions said more than words.

Then I left my office to search for Dr. Saroyan.

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Sooooo, I really hope you like it!!! Reviews would be super-awesome!!!!

I hope people are still interested in this story.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you all so much for your reviews. So glad you're still interested in this story! You rock!

I hope you'll like the following chapter, too!

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Coming home…

Chapter 8:

Finding Cam was easier than I had anticipated. Maybe because she seemed to have been watching me and Angela. So, she'd surely seen the hug which had ended our conversion. Sometimes I really dreaded those glass walls that only offered private words, but not private actions. On the other hand it seemed that nobody else had paid me and Angela attention and I had to tell Cam the truth anyway.

"Cam…. Could I maybe talk to you in private?" I asked and she gave me an assessing look, concern edged in her features. When, I wondered, had she started to worry about me? Or was she worrying about the famous forensic anthropologist, the employee and not me as person? I ignored those thoughts, giving myself a mental shrug. What did it matter? Did it change the fact that I was pregnant, did it change the fact that I – once again – was about to have a conversation I'd never ever in my life had imagined to have? No, it didn't change a single thing.

Dr. Saroyan only nodded and led me to her office and – obviously still having the hug I'd shared with Angela in mind – pulled the blinds to offer REAL privacy. I briefly asked myself why I had forgotten to do so when I had had my conversation with Angela…. Well, the answer was quite easy: I was not used to display emotion, so why should I prepare for it? Remembering that pregnant women could get pretty emotional – due to hormonal changes – I made a mental note to consider pulling the blinds more often from now on.

I swallowed hard and nodded in mute response when Cam offered me water. She sat down behind her desk, her face betraying no emotion, but I had seen the brief flicker of concern before. Whatever the motivation, she cared. It was better than nothing.

I swallowed hard, not sure where to begin, but when I heard a shuffling sound pass Cam's office door – the sound that I immediately connected to one of my grad student's rather sloppy gait – I knew where to start.

"Dr. Saroyan….. I know I've neglected to do what you asked me to do – namely to finally settle on one student to permanently act as my trainee. I'm sorry I held up the process for so long, but….. I didn't want to replace Zach." I sighed. Remembering my grad student, the brilliant young man that had made such a huge mistake still hurt as hell. He was not dead, but he was gone and he would not return to his post at my side. I had to finally accept it.

"Now I understand that it's not about what I want, but what we need. I will go through my notes on all the students again and let you know within two weeks whom I would recommend for the position."

My voice sounded odd even to my own ears, the words stiff and formal, but I was glad to have found a way to start this conversation. After all, Cam was – although she hardly ever remembered me of the fact – my boss AND a former girlfriend of Booth. Telling her that I was pregnant with his child was…. uncomfortable.

"Dr. Brennan…" She hesitated and abandoned her mask of detachment and obvious concern showed in her eyes. "What's wrong? This sounds as if you ….. want to make preparations."

I blinked and nodded after a moment. "Well, I am."

She drew in a deep breath and, after a moment of hesitation, asked. "Okay, how bad is it?"

My reaction was to blink and frown a little in confusion. "Bad?"

"Well…….. you hugging Angela like that – I was not intentionally watching, by the way, I just looked up that moment – and you saying you're making preparations. I'm not an idiot. You sound as if you want to make sure the Jeffersonian has a trained forensic anthropologist because you… won't be around. So, what kind of … illness are we talking about and what can we do?" She spoke quickly, brief pauses only before 'Won't be around' and 'illness' as if she had to weigh her words.

And then the last part "What can WE do?" settled in and I gaped at her for a moment, absolutely taken aback. We never had been really close, but this sounded like an offer of help to me. An offer of help to a woman that may be dealing with a terminal disease.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you." I hurried to say. "I'm not sick."

Cam only stared at me, confused but also relieved. "Well, that's good." She said after a moment and gave a breathless laugh. "What then? Did you get a job offer, are you thinking of leaving us?" Dr. Saroyan didn't sound exactly thrilled by that prospect, but not concerned anymore.

"No, I'm not leaving the Jeffersonian or DC. But in a few months I won't be able to maintain my usual workload anymore, especially not at crime scenes. In fact I will have to work regular hours - as Angela called it - from now on." I took in another deep breath and finally said it. "I'm pregnant."

The expression on Cam's face was almost comical. A mix of shock, surprise and….various other emotions I could not identify. After a moment of silence she started to laugh. Now it was my turn to be surprised. Maybe she thought I was joking? I frowned a little, unsure of what to do.

"Good God. Pregnant. You had me scared you were going to die and then you tell me you're pregnant." She gasped and shook her head, but soon she had calmed down enough to be serious again. "That's wonderful news. My congratulations. How far along are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

I needed a moment to process her reaction, then I answered. "Eight weeks."

She nodded and gave me another long look before she said with a smile. "Thank you for telling me. We'll have plenty of time to work on a good schedule for you and the student you'll chose, don't worry. You'll have to make sure not to exhaust yourself as you did ever since Booth …" Her voice trailed off and the sentence hung unfinished in the air.

"Eight weeks." She murmured after a moment. "Booth's been gone eight weeks." The words held an unspoken question and although I'm not much a people person I could make an elaborate guess on the nature of that question. She was wondering if I either had had sex with some stranger, presumably to distract myself from missing Booth or if Booth and I had – finally as Angela would say – had slept together.

Our gazes connected and I took a sip from my water glass to moisten my suddenly dry mouth before saying. "He's the father. He doesn't know, though."

"Wow." The one word – that, to be accurate was no real word – did not tell me what she thought of her ex as the father of my child. I fidgeted a little.

"Wow." She repeated, then grinned. "I knew you two would get together eventually." Then she shook her head. "And now he isn't even here so I can tease him about it."

"You're not…. angry?" I asked carefully.

She blinked in surprise, then waved my question off. "You think because Seeley and I……? No, absolutely not. We had a nice time together, but it wasn't the real thing. But with you two, it's different."

"Oh?" I made, surprised.

"He'd do anything for you. I've known him for quite a while now and you're the one person that means the most to him, aside from his son, that is. I always knew how he felt about you, Dr. Brennan. I was not completely sure how you felt about him, though." She gave me an apologetic smile. "But your behaviour these past eight weeks confirmed my suspicions."

Words eluded me. Had I really been that transparent? Had Booth been? Then, how come we had not acted on all this pent-up emotions before? How come it had taken us so long to realise we were in love, when everybody else had seen it? Not Cullen, though, I reminded myself. He had NOT anticipated Booth and me to get together.

"Your suspicions?" I repeated after a moment of silence.

"That you two belong with each other." She simply said and I swallowed hard upon that short – and hopefully accurate – assessment.

"I miss him." I confessed after a moment, my voice barely audible. Cam nodded understandingly. "I know. I guess it's been hard for you to find out you're pregnant with him gone, hm?"

What an understatement, I thought and simply nodded.

"When will he come back?" She asked and I bit my lip, then answered. "I don't know. His assignment… is very important and he can't just leave. I chose not to inform him about the pregnancy yet. It would only distract him and that might be dangerous."

Her brow furrowed but she nodded understandingly. "I understand your decision. If you need anything, you'll let me know, okay?" I nodded, a little surprised by her amicable behaviour. Then we both remained silent for a while.

"So, how are you feeling so far? Morning sickness, headache?" She asked after a few moments, a mischievous and curious glint in her eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at her and she laughed. "I AM a medical doctor. My average patient usually is dead, though.." She shrugged and I had to smile and answered honestly. "I felt miserable these past weeks. But I'm not sure if I can blame it on the pregnancy. Probably not. I'll make sure to eat regularly from now on and get more rest."

"You've been hard on yourself these past weeks. Consider it both medical advise and an order from me as your boss to quit that nonsense from now on." She raised an eyebrow. "I'll have Angela enforce this."

I winced a little. Angela could be downright scary, if she wanted to. "No need. She already volunteered for that job."

Cam nodded. "Good." I rose, thinking that we had covered everything, but she called my name before I could reach the door of her office. "Dr. Brennan?"

"You can call me Temperance." I offered, then blinked. Where had that come from? I mentally shrugged at my own consternation, what did it matter? Cam had been genuinely concerned for me and I called her Cam half of the time. It was only fair.

She smiled. "Thanks. I'm curious… and if you don't want to tell me, I totally understand… It's just…when did things change between Booth and you?" She asked hesitantly.

I smiled slowly, sadness and joy warring in me. "Eight weeks ago." I simply said and her eyes widened a little. "Oh." Cam said and I nodded. Oh. Yeah, that pretty much summed it up.

Then I left her office to finally get some work done.

* * *

Ta-ta! Please let me know what you thought of that conversation. Reviews would be GREAT!

Thanks a lot for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Hi again, people… sorry it took me a while to update!

Thank you all so much for your reviews. So glad you enjoyed the Cam-Brennan conversation!!!

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 9:

One week after my conversation with Cam I was still pregnant – no surprise – and spent fifteen miserable minutes every morning retching until my throat burned….a side-effect of the hormones I could have easily done without.

I taken up to working normal hours these past days and after the fourth day people actually stopped staring at me when I came to work and left like every one else during daylight instead of holing myself up in my office until midnight. I knew they were probably cooking up rumours about me, but I had learned as a teenager not to listen to what other people were whispering behind my back.

My appointment with my gynaecologist had come and gone by with Angela by my side, asking more questions than I could have ever thought of, but I was very grateful for her presence.

Finally Wednesday arrived and I was getting nervous. Cullen had not been able to guarantee that Booth would be making contact with us this afternoon and I was on edge.

I hoped for Booth and Parker that the whole thing would work out, but I couldn't be sure. And – I had to admit to myself – I was selfish enough to hope it for myself, too.

At half past four I was knocking on the door of Rebecca's new apartment.

I heard quick footsteps approach and Parker's young voice asking. "Who's there?"

This caused me to smile. Booth's son was smart enough to ask before opening the door.

"It's me, Bones." I said and the door was thrust open in an instant. "Bones!" The seven-year-old smiled happily at me. "I'm so glad you came."

"Happy Birthday, Parker." I said and hugged him tightly, then I pulled back and straightened.

My partner's son took my hand in his and dragged me inside the living room. Rebecca was sitting in her wheel-chair and her mother and sister were seated on the couch, drinking coffee.

"Hello Rebecca, Rachel. Mrs. Stinson. Thank you for inviting me." I addressed them.

They too greeted me and I was soon offered coffee – but asked for tea instead - and Parker raced off to get me a piece of his birthday cake. While he was gone I opened my bag and took out my laptop. "Can I set that up here somewhere? I'm waiting for an urgent message."

Rebecca frowned at me. "It's Parker's birthday. Do you really have to bring work here?"

Her sister and mother gave me a disapproving look.

I shook my head and whispered conspiratorially to her. "If this works out the way it should, it's going to be a present for Parker."

Rebecca's eyes widened a little, then she smiled a thin-lipped smile and nodded. I hadn't seen her genuinely happy since her accident, but I suppose that's understandable for somebody in her position. After all, she was now forced into a wheel-chair for the rest of her life and the insurance companies still had not paid a single cent. But she tried hard to be optimistic for her son and that was enviable.

I had just finished setting up the laptop on the dining table a few feet away, when Parker came back with a huge slice of cake for me and his gleaming eyes settled on the bags I had brought. I laughed. "Here, Parker… Happy Birthday." I handed him three boxes, explaining that the first one was from his Dad, who had left his gift with me and asked me to give it to him. Parker bravely mastered his tears upon hearing that, but it was a close call. The second box was my present, the third from the squints, who had gotten him a lab coat with his name on it.

I watched him unwrap the presents, one by one, listened to his excited exclamations and my chest tightened a little. His smile was so like Booth's it hurt to look at him and – at the same time – was oddly comforting. I was so absorbed in watching the boy and thinking of his half-sister or half-brother growing in my womb I didn't even hear it when my laptop signalled an incoming message.

"Bo-ones," Parker suddenly addressed me. "Is that your computer?" He pointed to the table a few feet away.

I blinked and nodded. "It just beeped." The boy announced and my mouth went suddenly dry when I understood. "Oh. Oh. Well I better check then." I said quickly. "I'm waiting for a message, you know."

"Uh-uh." Parker made and his concentration was on the brand new big fire truck he'd gotten from his father.

I hurried to the table, seating myself in front of my computer and took in a deep breath.

The laptop signalled a contact-inquiry and my heart beat faster when I read it.

"SB making contact. Respond, please."

I frowned a little at the distanced phrasing, but shrugged and typed.

"Hello."

A few moments long there was nothing and I swallowed hard, then another message appeared.

"SB making official contact as ordered. Identification?"

I blinked in confusion, but after a moment I understood.

Obviously Cullen had not told Booth whom he was making contact with and the Skype account on my laptop was new, installed by the FBI under a fake identity, because Cullen had wanted to keep my name out of the files. Which made sense if the order to make contact had gone through official FBI channels, I thought.

I had no idea how I was supposed to respond now, though. Was I allowed to use my name NOW or not? Cullen had not prepared me at all.

"Respond. ID, please." Flashed again and I took in a deep breath and typed.

"Am I supposed to identify myself with my real name or am I requested to select an alias of some sort?"

A minute passed by until finally a message appeared. "Bones, is that you???"

I had to smile… Booth really knew me better than anyone else.

"Yes." I typed and hit enter, then I added.

"Is it safe for you to use video phone?"

"Yes!" Came back instantly.

"Call me in one minute." I wrote, swallowed hard and said. "Parker, can you come here for a minute… I want to show you something."

Parker joined me and peeked at the screen. "Just wait a second." I answered and made sure to adjust the camera so that Parker would be visible for Booth.

The boy fidgeted beside me and sighed. "What do you want to show me?"

"Just a second, Parker. I promise you'll like it." I said.

"Is it something cool?" He asked and I had to smile. "Yeah, pretty cool."

As if on cue, my laptop signalled an incoming call and I showed Parker which button to press to answer it.

And then the familiar face I had missed so much filled the screen.

"DADDY!" Parker exclaimed and I saw Booth smile at his son, surprised but pleased and my heart beat sped up.

"Happy Birthday, Parker." The familiar voice and I closed my eyes for an instant, enjoying the sound of it. Then I stepped back to give Parker and his father some time to talk to each other… after all it was the boy's birthday, not mine.

My eyes met Rebecca's as I sank back on the couch and reached for my tea. She stared at me, her eyes wide and then she gave me the first genuine smile since the accident. "Thank you. I don't know how you managed that, but it was exactly what Parker needed."

I nodded. "Booth needs it too, I guess." I added and took a bite of my cake, chewing slowly.

In the background I could hear Booth and his son talk and I sighed, fighting down the urge to walk over to the laptop and tell him that I was pregnant. It would have been irrational and wrong. After all I had made my decision to keep it a secret from him and I still stood by it… He was in a high risk situation and I wouldn't want this unexpected pregnancy to distract him.

That didn't keep me from straining my ears to hear his voice, which sounded a bit distorted by microphone and speakers, but was so unmistakeably his it tugged at my heart.

Mrs. Stinson asked me something, but I had not been paying attention to the women surrounding me and only blinked in confusion. "Pardon me?"

Rebecca and her sister exchanged a meaningful glance, then Parker's mother asked me. "You miss him too, right?"

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Yes I miss him." Then I forced a smile on my face. "But he won't be gone forever." No, he wouldn't, I told myself, but he might just be gone too long for me to be able to stand it.

"But you don't know how long, do you?" Rebecca sighed. "Parker misses him so much."

"No, I don't know how long. A few more months, maybe." I swallowed hard. "But… I know what he does there is very important."

Rebecca closed her eyes for a moment. "If we didn't need the money…" She shook her head.

I nodded and smiled as I overheard Parker thanking his father for the new fire truck, then my gaze fixed on Rebecca's. "Booth's boss promised to put pressure on the insurance companies regarding your case."

Her eyes flew open in surprise. "You… are you sure?" She asked with hope and disbelief in her voice.

"Yes." I answered. "He seemed quite agitated that they hadn't come to a decision after five months."

The three women exchanged a long look then Rebecca gave me a serious look. "Dr. Brennan…. I didn't like you when I first met you and I'm very sorry for that. I.. you're doing a lot for Parker and I want you to know that we're very grateful."

I didn't know what to say, responding to compliments or obvious gratitude had never been my strong force. Thankfully Parker chose this moment to yell my name. "Bo-ones. Daddy wants to talk to you, too."

"Oh." I only said, blinked and walked over to the table, where Parker was sitting in front of my laptop.

"I'm gonna get my new toys Daddy, then I can show you what I got." The boy announced and dashed off leaving me alone with the laptop and Booth's smiling face on the screen.

"Bones. I don't know how to thank you." His voice was husky and his brown eyes held so much emotion and gratitude my breath hitched. "How did you manage to pull this off?"

Remembering my conversation with Cullen I had to fight the urge to laugh hysterically. Oh, it only took me to tell your boss I was pregnant with your child, Booth, that's all, I thought.

"I have my ways." I answered mysteriously, but then I regarded him more closely. His face was haggard and I could see he had lost weight… and the smile he flashed me didn't look as genuine as usual. "Booth," I said in a low voice "I know what you're doing there."

His eyes widened in shock and he blinked. "Did Cullen tell you?" His voice was somehow emotionless now and I nodded. "Yes."

"Are you… disgusted by me now?" Booth asked me hesitantly and I jerked back in surprise.

"No!" I said forcefully. "No. Not by you." I shook my head. "By what you're forced to do, maybe, but not by you. How could you think that?"

He briefly closed his eyes and I noticed again how tired he looked. "I don't know. I'm here and… it's hard."

"I just wanted you to know … well, you should be careful.. you know." I stammered a little and I saw him smile warmly at my words. "Are you saying you're worried?" The words were somehow teasing, but I knew him well enough to recognize the serious tone of his voice.

"Yes." I simply answered and I heard him take in a deep breath and once again I saw something flash in his eyes, some kind of emotion, but it was gone before I could interpret it.

"How's it going with the crime solving?" He asked after a moment. I shrugged. "Agent Crane is okay, but we haven't had a lot of cases together so far." I frowned a little. "She says we're all aliens and she doesn't know how you put up with us."

Booth laughed out loud. "I miss you, Bones." He said and my heartbeat sped up upon hearing him say my name with such longing. "I hope I can come home soon."

"We miss you too." I answered and he gave me a long look, then smiled. If the 'we' was puzzling him, he didn't say. "You have no idea what it means to me that you made it possible to talk to my child today. Thank you, Bones."

My throat constricted a little when I heard him say the words 'my child', but then Parker raced back into the room, his arms full with things he had gotten for his birthday. I had to grin as he explained the 'Science for Kids' set I had given him to his father and showed off his new lab coat.

Booth groaned and sent me an accusatory look. "You're turning my kid into a squint?"

"He likes it." I defended my actions. "Nah, he's just trying to humour you." Booth joked.

"No, Daddy, what Bones gave me is cool." Parker corrected and I had to chuckle at the horrified expression on Booth's face. "Don't worry, Booth, he still thinks your job is cooler because you get to arrest bad people." I said.

"Daddy?" Parker suddenly asked. "When will you come back?"

Sadness entered Booth's eyes. "I don't know, bub. I wish I could tell you. There are many bad guys here and it takes long to arrest them all, you know. And you know I told you I need to get them all before I can come back."

"I know Daddy." The boy beside me sighed. "But it's been so long and I miss you."

"I miss you too, Parker… I think of you every day." Booth told his son seriously and my heart ached for both of them. He was a great father and trying so hard to be there for his son.

"Will you tell your mum I want to talk to her for a minute?" He asked his son and Parker nodded and walked over to Rebecca..

"I only have a few minutes left, Bones." He said and I nodded mutely.

"I just wanted to let you know that… I think of you every day, too." My former partner whispered and I smiled sadly.

The truth was, I thought of him all the time too… especially now that I knew that I loved him and had found out I was pregnant. But I could hardly throw that at him now, with his son and ex-girlfriend in the room. ...and it would not be the right thing to do. What would it accomplish? Make him feel even more lonely?

So, I just said. "I hope you can come back soon. Be careful." Then Rebecca moved her wheel-chair towards me and I gave the man I loved one last look. "Good bye." I whispered and he nodded… the sad look in his eyes made me ache inside. "Good bye, Bones." I heard him say.

Then I stepped away from the laptop and fled from the room, my eyes watering and my insides churning. I had been at Rebecca's often enough to know where the bathroom was and when I was inside I locked the door behind me. Trembling, I took a shuddering breath as I regarded my reflection in the mirror above the sink.

Faintly I heard Parker yell "I love you Daddy."

My stomach protested and I wondered for a brief moment why people called it morning sickness, when in fact, it could come over you any time of the day.

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I know, that was a pretty sad chapter, I guess. I hope you still liked it. At least it was a longer one, right?

Please let me know!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello dear readers.  
You really are the best, thank you all so much for your reviews.  
I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, although it was pretty sad…. Here we go, the next one is ready now ;)

It may be a bit shorter, but the last one was quite long, so I hope you can forgive me ;)

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 10:

I sighed and stared at my laptop. The blinking cursor seemed to be mocking me and my inability to find the right words. Somehow it was sad that I had something like writer's block when I only wanted to add a new entry to my journal.

It had been Angela's idea and though I had first been a bit sceptic, I soon realised it was a brilliant. It kept me busy and – which had been Angela's primary aim – I didn't feel that guilty for not letting Booth know about the pregnancy.

"You can show him that journal and the ultrasound pictures when he comes back, Sweetie. Show him that you wanted him to be part of it." Angela had said the day after the both wonderful and painful conversation with Booth.

"What should I write, Angela…. I don't have a clue how to write about my emotions. I don't even understand them, how am I supposed to keep a journal on all this?" I had given back and Angela had regarded me thoughtfully for a while.

"Maybe you need to write it down to understand it yourself. Start the journal, Sweetie. Start with the day you found out that you're pregnant. Write in it as often as you can… it's not the same as being here with you, but Booth will appreciate it when he's back, I'm sure." Angela had said… with that serious look she sometimes turned at me. The look that always made me suspect she was a psychologist in an artist's disguise.

"I don't know…" I had given back, still resisting.

"See it at as a report. You're good at writing reports." Angela had continued. "And you have to admit, it might be interesting to be able to read this journal in a few years. You know, scientifically seen."

"You're evil. You're trying to make this appealing to the scientist in me." I had frowned at her.

"The **scientist** in you opposed to the **what** in you?." She had asked, one eyebrow arched at my response.

"The mo…." The word had died on my lips. Yes, I had been about to say … the mother in me. It had been that very moment I had realised that keeping this journal would appeal to BOTH of them. The scientist in me would be fascinated by the journal's details regarding bodily changes. The mother in me was going to appreciate the fact that I could look back to ultra sound pictures any time. And the woman in me decided if that was the only way I could somehow 'include' Booth in all this, I'd do it.

My first entry had been a summary of the day I had discovered I was pregnant and the following, the conversations with Angela and Cam, Parker's birthday and the conversation I had had with my father two days after that. My father had been thrilled to learn he was going to be a grandfather.

I smiled, thinking back at his reaction…I had seen tears in his eyes, I was sure of it.

Now, fifteen weeks into my pregnancy, I was sitting in front of my laptop, though, and had no idea what to write.

I looked back at the last few entries:

"Today was another appointment to make sure the baby is developing satisfactorily. It is and I'm grateful. Angela went with me again, but it should have been Booth sitting there, looking at the monitor with me. I got prescribed more vitamins, but it's standard procedure, so I'm not worried.

No sickness today, what a relief."

The entry was dated a week ago, 5th of May, and I had scanned in the ultrasound picture. I had to smile a bit when I read what I had added to the same entry a few hours later.

"add, 5th of May:  
I'm never going to get excited about not being sick again, at least not before I can be sure dinner stays down. I hope I'm not among those women who suffer from sickness through the whole duration of the pregnancy."

I trembled a little as I read my next entry from May, 7th.

"Today we finally made it official that I'm pregnant. Cam, Angela and Hodgins knew already of course … but the other people at the lab were… surprised, to say the least. I heard somebody whisper that 'That cold fish shouldn't have a child." I don't know who said it. I should know better than to let things like that get to me, but the hormones make me more susceptible, I guess, because I can't forget about it.  
Angela told me to ignore comments like that, that people said all sorts of things because they were jealous or didn't know me. I try to believe her, listen to her, but today it's been harder than usual.  
Crest's reaction to the news was more positive, though. I had had no idea she liked me enough to be happy for me…. She didn't ask for the father and I didn't tell her, but I think she knows all the same. I don't care. What difference does it make, Cullen knows anyway."

May 8th read:

"Still no news from Booth, but Cullen said something about it being a good sign. I have no idea what's that supposed to mean. Angela yelled at him for being always so cryptical, but he assured us he would contact us as soon as he knew more. I may not like him, but I trust him to tell me the truth.  
I'm glad Cullen likes Angela, though…. she said a few things that would have gotten her taken out by security otherwise, I'm sure of it. "

May 10th:

"Today after work Angela forced me to go shopping with her. Logically, I knew the day would come when none of my clothes fit comfortably anymore and I would have to start shopping for maternity clothing. It still scared me a little. Especially when Angela showed me clothes to be worn close to the end of term. They were impressively big and though I know how a heavily pregnant woman looks like it's hard to imagine myself in that state. But my breasts keep growing and my waist too. It would be illogical not to react to the change, so I have to buy suitable clothes."

May 11th

"The new clothes actually are pretty comfortable.  
My Dad brought me almond muffins today and I think they are my new favourite. He said that my child was going to be born with a sweet tooth, but I informed him that babies were in fact born without teeth. It took me a while to understand he had made a joke. He gave me that sort of incredulous look Booth always gives me when I say something weird."

Well and now here I was and I was not sure if I should write down the only important thing that had happened today. Thinking back still had me trembling, but then I decided to be strong and write it down. Angela had told me to include everything that made me laugh or cry, concerned or happy. She had said it would help and she had been right before. I decided to go with it.

May 12th.

"Tonight I dreamed of Booth. I dreamed he came back and was so angry at me. He said he didn't want the baby and that he could never love a person as cold as me. Logically, I know it's only been a nightmare, that it has no significance whatsoever, but I still woke screaming.  
I hope he comes back soon and I hope he'll be able to forgive me for not telling him. I hope he will be able to understand my reasons. But even if not, I know Booth would never be angry at our child. He would never be so cruel, he is a good father and a good man. I guess my subconscious just picked up on the things people whisper behind my back, things they think I'm not able to hear, but sometimes I do. I haven't told Angela about the dream yet, but I think maybe I will.  
Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm going to meet Parker again. He wants to see the dinosaur exhibition at the Jeffersonian. I think I will tell Rebecca I'm pregnant… It's getting hard to hide and I think she already suspects something. I won't let her tell Parker that it's Booth's though. It would confuse him too much and it should be Booth explaining this to him, not me or Rebecca."

I read through it again and nodded to myself. I felt a little better now that I had written it down.

Despite the fact that I still hated psychology, I had to admit that some techniques used by psychologist were indeed working. I had found out a few days after Angela's suggestion to write a journal that she had taken the idea from Sweets.

I had been mad at her, but she had just given me that long look again and had asked. "Do you feel better since you're writing down all this?"

The answer had been easy. "Yes."

"Well, whatever works, Sweetie, right?" She had said and given me a hug. It had not been as good as one of Booth's… but better than nothing.

Just like writing the journal was not as good as having Booth here with me… but better than nothing.

* * *

Soooo, please let me know what you thought about this chapter.

I thought having her keep a journal would be a nice touch and a good way of shortening things, making time-jumps. As you hopefully noticed we made time jump in this chapter…. Parker's birthday was approx. 9 weeks after Booth left, now it's 15 weeks.

Reviews are VERY welcome!!!!


	11. Chapter 11

Hello again, people! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, you are the best!

Glad you liked the journal! Here we go, the next chapter is ready, not that long, but I hope you'll like it anyway.

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 11:

"Bren!" I winced as I heard my best friend yelling at me from somewhere behind me. The tone of her voice told me that she was not very happy with me trying to sneak away to accompany Clark to the crime scene.

"Damn it, Brennan, I know you heard me, now stop!" Angela addressed me again and I sighed and did as I was told and turned around to face her.

My best friend frowned as she stood in front of me,. "You're five months pregnant, Bren. You stay here."

"I'm not a dog. You don't get to tell me where I have to go or not, Ange" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"Do you even know what kind of weather we're having? It's hot outside. Hot as in HELLISH. And you're not driving out there today, digging up a corpse at a dump site of all places! I know for a fact that you had a dizzy spell again this morning. Can you imagine what might happen to you if you fall down at a dump site? Huh? Stay here." Angela gave me her stern look, then switched tactics. "Please, Bren. You'd do me a great favour. I would feel better if you were here."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why does that always work?" I shook my head. "And why do you have to be right?" I grumbled. I was NOT happy with my situation. It was uncommonly hot for June and – though I had never had problems tolerating heat before – the past few days I had felt dizzy from time to time due to the weather, even passed out once very dramatically in front of the whole lab with Hodgins catching me before I could hit the floor. I was still thankful for his quick reaction.

And my best friend was right… a dump site was not exactly the environment the doctor recommended for pregnant women…especially not to those who were prone to pass out any minute. Common sense told me to accept it… but I didn't have to like it.

"Clark?" I yelled and the student I had chosen to be my assistant turned around, his hands full of equipment. "I can't come. "I sighed, resigning. "If you encounter anything out of the ordinary, contact me. And please let Agent Crest know. Dr. Hodgins can accompany you." He nodded wordlessly and left. The thing I liked about Clark Edison was not only that he was bright and a perfectionist, no, he also accepted mutely whatever I told him to do without complaining.

Though I had caught him cringing a time or two when Angela and I had discussed personal matters while he was around. Maybe he was not comfortable with two women talking about growing breasts due to hormonal changes. I guess Booth wouldn't be either.

"Sooo, Sweetie." My best friend gave me a long look. "How are you feeling today?"

"Pissed off." I offered and she actually giggled. "I mean anything out of the ordinary?"

"No." I answered distractedly. Was it really possible I felt hungry AGAIN? I had had a sandwich only an hour ago, if memory served. Absently I rubbed my now unmistakeably pregnant belly. And froze when I felt an oddly fluttering sensation. I took me a moment to process what had happened. I had been a little worried that I had not been able to feel the baby move yet… and now, right now, it had finally happened…. After weeks of silently tormenting myself about the fact that other women were able to sense the movement of their child much earlier.

The expression on my face must have been alarming, because Angela quickly grabbed my arm, obviously afraid I was on the verge of falling unconscious again. "What's wrong, Bren? Dizzy again? Sit down."

She gently tugged at my arm but I shook my head, remained rooted in the very same spot, closing my eyes, trying to sense the movement in my womb … and it happened again. Fleeting, barely noticeable but it was there. "Bren?" Angela asked, concern in her voice.

"It moved." I gazed at my best friend. "The baby. I just felt it." Without having to look into a mirror I knew that surely now I was smiling like an imbecile. And for once, I didn't care.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Angela seemed to have lost control of her vocabulary, repeating the same sound over and over again. Then she suddenly snatched the bag from my shoulder.

"Hey!" I protested as she started to rummage through it. A triumphant smile appeared on her face as she found the notepad I always carried with me. "Time." She said meaningfully and I gave her a long look, contemplating the possibility that my best friend had temporarily gone insane.

"Note the time, Bren. For your journal." She emphasized after a moment of staring at each other and comprehension dawned in me. I took the note pad and scribbled down the time – 10:25 am – as well as the date – 8th of June - and that I had felt the baby move. Twice. My hands actually trembled a little.

"Ahhh, this is soooo exciting. How does it feel?" My best friend asked eagerly.

I shrugged a little. "I can't describe it… it's…. " I blinked, realising that the dreaded thing happened again: Tears formed in my eyes at the most inconvenient moments. I wrinkled my nose, willing the burning feeling in my eyes to go away.

Angela knew how much I hated to get emotional in front of other people and quickly dragged me into an abandoned room. "You need to cry?" She asked gently.

"I don't need to." I protested. "It just keeps happening." The first tear spilled down my cheek despite my efforts to contain them. "Damn it." I choked out.

"You were scared, right? That it took so long for you to feel it?" Angela asked me and I nodded. I had not told her about my worries, but I was no longer surprised about Angela's profound knowledge of my sentiments. Sometimes I thought she knew me better than I knew myself.

"So now you know everything's okay. My little niece in there is just fine." She winked at me and I snorted. "We don't know the sex, why do you keep on insisting it's going to be a girl?"

"You'll see I'm right… I have a sixth sense for that." Angela grinned knowingly.

"I doubt that very much, Angela… but even if you had that ominous skill, keep it to yourself. I don't want to know." I gave her a long look, then realised I had stopped crying. "You were just teasing me to stop this, right?" I pointed to my face.

"Sure thing." Angela agreed and I had to smile. "It worked." I said and took in a deep breath. "And you were right… I was worried. I'm really relieved now."

My best friend hugged me, provided me with tissues to dab at my wet face and laughed as she heard my stomach grumble a moment later. "That was NOT the baby, that was you. Come on, I bought you blueberry muffins."

My mouth nearly started to water at the thought of blueberry muffins. "Thanks." I said, summing up all my gratitude for muffins, tissues and her being my best friend in general. And Angela being Angela knew exactly how I meant it, gave my hand a quick, affectionate squeeze and just said. "Always, sweetie."

* * *

In the evening, I was sitting in front of my computer again, typing up what had happened this day, how I had felt the child moving for the very first time and wished with all my heart Booth had been here to share that moment. I bit my bottom lip and sighed. I missed him… five months after he had left I had the irrational feeling that I missed him more and more every day. And I was worried about him.

A few weeks ago Cullen had told me that no news were good news. In comparison to hearing bad news, no message surely was positive.

But that was wrong… Now I knew, that no news was bad, because I was slowly, but steadily moving towards the time where I had to think about furnishing a nursery. And I didn't want to do that without Booth. Which was sentimental and irrational, since it was only a room. But I felt what I felt and there was no use denying it… pregnancy had at least taught me that by now. There is no sense in ignoring your feelings, trying to bury them… because they'll just resurface at another moment, when you're not paying attention.

I placed my hands protectively over my abdomen. "He's going to come back soon." I said soothingly. A barely detectable movement in my womb answered me… as if the tiny being in there was trying to say: You're not alone.

Which was ridiculous, irrational and just plain impossible. And it still made me feel better.

* * *

Sooo, what did you think about this chapter???? Five months pregnant and still no Booth around, I know, I know… next chapter should be ready soon, so I hope you can forgive me for not bringing Booth back yet.

Reviews would be AWESOME!


	12. Chapter 12

My dear readers, you simply rock!!! Thank you all for your wonderful comments, I'm so glad you still like this story.

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 12:

I was just lifting myself out of my office chair after having devoured three sandwiches for lunch as I heard a loud crash from somewhere not too far away. Frowning I decided to search for the reason for that sound. Usually sounds like that weren't foreboding good things… and statistics were not going to elude me on this. If I had known what would happen, would I have stayed in my office? Probably. I would have closed the blinds and shut the world out for as long as possible... If I had known… but I didn't.

My feet were aching a bit, but being nearly six months pregnant brought that kind of aches and hardships. But at least the sickness had vanished a few weeks ago. So, I had exchanged morning sickness against swollen feet… I was still not sure if the change had been a good one…but it's not as if I had had a say in it.

Finally I found the source of the sound, the loud crash, I had heard before in Angela's office. And a few moments later I wished I hadn't. Angela turned around to look at me and I knew that something was wrong. I saw it in her eyes. On the floor I recognized the remains of her favourite tea pot, glass shards were glittering dangerously everywhere. Hodgins and Cam were just hurrying into the room too, but Angela's eyes were on me… and the intense look in them made my heart pound faster.

"Sweetie." She choked, then her gaze flickered to the small TV she kept in her office, the one she turned on during lunch breaks. And what I saw there captured my attention immediately.

"Philadelphia: Fourteen paedophiles arrested, eight missing children rescued." The headline read.

"Philadelphia." I said slowly. "That's where Booth is."

"Sweetie." Angela watched me, eyes wide. "Sit down, please."

"What?" I asked. "Why?" I frowned at her, my brain oddly numb, then my gaze returned to the TV even as the headline changed.

"Undercover agent killed during FBI operation." It now read and I needed a full minute to process it.

To understand that during that FBI operation in Philadelphia fourteen paedophiles had been arrested, eight children rescued… and one agent killed. My ever active brain tossed the possible meaning at me relentlessly, slapped it in my face.

"No." I choked out, my hands covering my stomach protectively. "No." My vision blurred as tears of shock started to fill my eyes. "Please…" I whispered. "That can't be true…"

"Bren." Angela was beside me in an instant as I started to tremble. "Sweetie, we don't know anything yet." I felt somebody else grab my other arm, trying to steady me… Hodgins, I thought numbly, as I stared at the TV. Hodgins holding me upright once again…because all my strength seemed to have left me.

"Booth." I whispered as the woman on screen tried to put a compassionate look on her botox-smoothed face. "…. the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet officially confirmed the death of the undercover agent, but witnesses report that …"

I didn't listen anymore, I just saw his face in front of me, the last time we had talked, the haunted look in his eyes.

Dead? I thought. Could his God really be so cruel to both of us? One more reason not to believe in anything.

Suddenly there was a buzzing sound in my ears and a stabbing pain somewhere in my abdomen… and then blackness engulfed me.

* * *

"She's waking up." Somebody murmured.

For a moment I was trying to find out whom the voice was talking about, but then I realised it had to be me. I tried to open my eyes, but I didn't manage to lift the heavy eyelids on the first attempt.

After a few moments of getting adjusted to the light I finally could make out Angela's and Cam's faces. They looked worried and I wondered why. Had I passed out again, because of the heat? But a few days ago the weather had changed, it was considerably cooler now. I had not felt dizzy for days.

I blinked again and noticed that I had never seen this ceiling before… It didn't quite look like something in the lab our my apartment.

There was something soft and warm underneath me and a beeping sound filled my ears.

Hospital, my mind analysed. "What happened?" I croaked, my eyes fixed on my best friend.

Angela and Cam exchanged a wary look. "You passed out." Dr. Saroyan said.

"Why… hospital?" I asked weakly. Again they gazed at each other and a cold numbness seemed to creep inside my limbs.

"You have to promise to stay calm, Sweetie…, please." Angela gave me a pleading look.

"Ange. Tell me." I whispered.

"You had premature contractions." She answered, her voice barely audible. I felt my pulse quicken and my hands flew to my abdomen… to find it still as pregnant as it had been before.

"The baby is okay, Bren… It's okay." Angela hurried to say. I heard her, but it didn't stop me from frantically searching for some SIGN that the baby was okay. I felt a tiny kick and was relieved.

"They managed to stop the contractions and stabilized you. Your vitals are fine now." Cam added. "But you'll have to stay here for the night and you're on bed rest for the next two weeks."

I nodded numbly. "What caused them?" I asked… but when Cam and Angela exchanged another look, I knew. It rushed back to me. The pain, the shock, the horror I had felt when I had realised what the news report had to mean.

"Booth." I whispered, my eyes widening. Suddenly I felt so cold, although I was sure the environmental temperature had not changed.

"No, please, Sweetie… we don't know anything yet. The news channel withdrew the information again. Now they're saying that an agent got hurt. But not killed, Sweetie. Do you hear me?" Angela took my hand in hers, warming it. "Do you understand? They said it was false information by an eye-witness. They report an injured agent, not dead."

I blinked slowly, while the meaning of her words settled in, while my mind processed what she had said. "Injured." I repeated. Injured could still mean he would die. If an eye witness mistook an injured man for dead … it didn't exactly sound promising.

"Have you called Cullen?" I asked after a moment and Cam nodded. "I tried several times, but his secretary kept on blocking me. Hodgins and your father drove over to the Hoover building half an hour ago to get us some definite information. They should be calling soon. Your father can be quite scary." I registered that Cam was holding my other hand. "I know it's hard… but you have to stay as calm as possible. Breathe evenly. Think of your child."

I think I nodded then, but I felt oddly distanced from my body, from what was happening. My vision blurred a little again and I heard Cam say. "It's the medication. Don't fight it. Sleep is good for you."

And everything went pitch black again.

* * *

When I woke for the next time I was in a different room and the beeping sound had stopped. I realised that they had moved me from the ICU to a normal room while I had been unconscious. I blinked again and moved my head a fraction. Angela was asleep in the chair beside my bed, her hand clutching mine.

"Ange." I said. But it came out as a garbled sound. My best friend woke with a jerk, blinked in confusion for a moment, but then her gaze focussed on me. "Hey sweetie." She said, smiling.

"Booth." I croaked, my throat feeling raw, as if on fire. "Drink first." She said and helped me gulp down some water.

"Tell me." I insisted, my voice a little steadier now.

"He's going to be fine, sweetie." Angela said with a smile on her face. "Just a few bruises."

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, relief pouring through me, filling me, warming me.

"What happened to him?" I asked after some time.

"The eye witness saw how he got shot, but he wore a bulletproof vest underneath his jacket. Cullen said the force of the shot threw him against a column or something. He hit his head and the lights went out. But he hasn't even gotten a real concussion. Guess he's too thick-headed for that." Angela quickly explained.

I had to smile weakly at her attempt at a joke. "Cullen told you all that?"

"Your dad made him tell. He told him what that damn news report did to you. Cullen apologised for it, but he said – direct quote now – 'that these damn vultures are quick and always say what they want'. Vultures meaning media." Angela squeezed my hand gently.

"I got that." I said. "Where is he?"

"Cullen? Or your Dad?" Angela asked confused.

"Booth." I answered and rolled my eyes at her.

She smiled understandingly. "Still in Philly. Cullen said he's going to stay in hospital for one night, just to make sure, then he has to give his reports and stuff…. He should be back the day after tomorrow."

Finally, I thought, finally he'll be coming home. I hadn't realised that I was crying until Angela started to stroke my hair, murmuring soothing words. Pregnancy sure had made me more sensitive.

It took me a while to calm down, but eventually I did and soon after I had regained my composure a knock sounded at the door.

Deputy Director Cullen entered my hospital room. "Dr. Brennan, Miss Montenegro." He said and I felt a flicker of panic, despite what Angela had just told me. What if Booth wasn't alright?

"Dr. Brennan, I'm very sorry about what happened today." Booth's boss gave me a long and without doubt apologetic look. "We had no idea that the media had been talking to this eye-witness and I was in a meeting when Dr. Saroyan tried to reach me. I should have made sure you were getting informed about what really had happened."

I nodded, but then suddenly a thought occurred to me. "Parker!" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Dr. Brennan. We contacted all of Agent Booth's family and informed them that he is alive and well. Just some minor bruises, that's all. He will be back in DC on Wednesday. His flight arrives at 3:30 in the afternoon. I assume you will want to be there, as will his son." Cullen told me.

"I can't. They put me on bed rest." I answered. "But thank you."

"We'll be there… we can bring Parker and then take Booth to your apartment. I'll work it out with Rebecca." Angela offered and I nodded weakly. Cullen soon left and I turned towards Angela again. "How are you going to explain to him that I can't be at the airport?"

"I'll say that you had a health problem and was put on bed rest. And that's not even a lie, right?" Angela said. "This is between you." She pointed at my abdomen.

"Yes." I agreed with her. "Angela?"

My best friend, digging around in her purse, looked up at me. "Hm?"

"What if he's angry at me? What if he doesn't want the baby? What…"

The words died on my lips as my best friend covered my mouth with her hand.

"Stop right there, Brennan. Booth loves you. He'll be surprised, no question. But as for the rest…. If he doesn't want this baby, he's an idiot. Do you think Booth's an idiot?" Her voice was a little rough.

Mutely I shook my head.

"Well, then…" Angela stared at me. "Why are you worried?"

"I just am." I answered and she gave me a stern look.

"Well, stop it. It's not going to change anything, right? You could have lost your baby today, Bren. Just be happy Booth's alright and you and the baby are too. Anything else is not important right now." My best friend said seriously… and I realised she was right.

Another thought occurred to me and I frowned a little. "Where's my father?"

"Hodgins and he are hunting up pudding somewhere. They said it's for you, but I know Jack. I swear I don't know why all men seem to be crazy about that damn hospital pudding. They should be back soon."

Angela smiled at me. "I've got something for you, Sweetie." She handed me an ultrasound picture. "From earlier, when you were asleep. This is the last time I've been holding your hand during an ultrasound…. The next time Booth will be there."

"I hope so." I said and stared down at the black and white picture.

"You'll see." Angela just said.

* * *

Soooooo, MAJOR angst in here, I know. But hey, hey, I could have ended the chapter with a cliffie or something and I didn't… not really… so please, please be patient. Reviews are really appreciated!!! Thank you for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you again for your wonderful comments, people. Hope you'll like this next chapter...

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 13

I was sitting in my bed, my back propped against a pillow… thanks to Angela I was surrounded by all the things I needed. Tea to drink, sandwiches to eat, something to read and a small TV in my bedroom – an addition I could have done without, but Angela was Angela.

But I was so nervous I could not occupy myself with any of those things, could not block out the knowledge that in these minutes Booth's plane was arriving at the airport, that in these minutes he was going to hug his son and wonder why I was not there to meet him.

And later, after he had had the chance to spend some time with Parker, Angela would give him the spare key to my apartment and drop him off here. If Booth wanted to see me, that is. On the other hand, I thought, Angela wouldn't take no for an answer and probably take drastic measures.

I stared at my cell phone on the night stand next to me. She had promised to call me when Booth arrived. She'd also promised to give me a heads-up before Booth would enter my apartment. The big question was, what was I supposed to do until then? My hands covered my prominent six month pregnant belly as I thought of seeing Booth again.

The phone rang and I snatched it off the night stand. "Brennan."

"Hey, Bren. How are you holding up?" Angela's voice greeted me.

"Okay." I lied.

"He arrived alright. We'll head for the diner now with Parker… then Hodgins and Cam are going to take Parker home and I'll drive Booth to your house. Okay?" Angela said and I took in a deep breath. "Alright." I whispered. "Just… don't let me wait for too long, okay?"

"I'll do my best, Sweetie. Wait a second guys, I'll be right back." I heard her say. "Had to get away a little. Parker told Booth you had to stay in bed because your tummy's upset, just so you know." Angela informed me and I had to smile, but my heart also skipped a beat in concern. "God. He didn't say anything else, did he?"

"Nah… He's so happy his Daddy is back he's ecstatic…. You're nervous, huh?" My best friend asked.

"You have no idea." I answered.

"Well, then I better give you something to do." Angela said with a smile in her voice. "Any minute now your Dad should be there now to keep you company… But don't worry, he's going to leave before Booth comes over."

"You set that up to distract me?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Yep." Angela confirmed. "Gotta go now, Sweetie. Until later." She disconnected before I had the chance to thank her.

A few moments later a knock on my bedroom door told me my father had arrived.

"Hey baby." He said as he opened the door and I let out a deep sigh. "I'm so glad you're here."

I admitted and my father gave me a long look. "Worried?" I nodded. Worried did not even begin to describe how I felt.

He crossed over to my bed and sat down beside me. "Well, then we gotta do something to distract you, I guess." He winked at me mischievously. "Wanna play cards?" I had to laugh a little at the expression on his face. "Yes… Let's play cards, Dad."

* * *

Two hours later I was clutching the comforter on my bed tightly in my sweaty hands. Five minutes ago Angela had called and my Dad had left. Booth would be here any moment now. Any moment.

The baby didn't agree with me being nervous and was restless too, or so it seemed. My stomach felt a little queasy and I tried to banish the thoughts of the sandwich my father had made me eat earlier.

Then I heard a sound. The door of my apartment, footsteps coming near my room. And I held my breath in anticipation.

"Bones?" His familiar voice asked hesitantly as he paused in the doorway of the room. My father had left the door a crack open and I could only see a shadowy figure.

"Yes." I breathed and he pushed the door open. My heart nearly stopped as I saw him again for the first time in six months. Six long months. "Welcome back." I whispered, my voice sounding tinny.

"Bones… Angela said you're sick or something. Is it okay if I come in?" Booth asked, still hesitantly hovering in the doorway.

"Yes, come on in." I answered. He stepped into the room and only now I could really see his face. I drank in the sight of him… yes, he looked as if he had lost weight and his hair was a mess. But it was Booth and that was all that counted.

His eyes met mine and my breath hitched. "God, I missed you." Booth whispered and I nearly burst into tears.

Booth stepped towards me, slowly… his eyes on my face, oblivious to anything else, or so it seemed. But then, when he was only a few feet away his gaze fell to my midsection. And he stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. He stared at my abdomen and I stared at him, both of us speechless. I had had time to think of what I was going to say, how I was going to explain but all the things I had thought of eluded me in that important moment.

Uncomfortable silence settled over the room as Booth's eyes remained glued to my stomach. I glance down for a moment and wondered how this must look to him. Me, lying in my bed, the comforter below my waistline, my already pretty big belly protruding. He took one step back and I knew I had to do something.

"Booth." My voice was hoarse and I cleared my throat. "I wanted to tell you."

I glanced at him, his familiar face that wore an expression I could not even TRY to interpret. "But I didn't want this to distract you when you were on such a dangerous mission. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I swallowed hard. "I wanted you to be focussed on the case."

I watched him clench his fists and avert his gaze. "You didn't want to distract me." He repeated, his voice flat, then shook his head and took another step back.

"I… thought. God, I'm a fool. I thought you and me…." He stopped and I saw pain flash over his face, raw pain. "I told you I loved you, Bones. And how long did you wait before…" He pointed towards my abdomen. Then he whirled around and left the room. "Congratulations." I heard him choke out, then he was gone.

Somehow the thought that he could suspect I had slept with somebody else had never crossed my mind before. Not once. I was so stunned I needed a minute to react. A precious, long minute until I came to my senses again. "Booth." I yelled. "Booth, come back."

But all I heard was the door of my apartment click shut.

* * *

Yes, I'm evil, uh-uh… I know. EVIL CHEESE... hahha... you know sometimes I have to put in such cliffies, I've got a reputation to live up to ;)

But the next chapter is nearly ready, so don't worry too much, okay?


	14. Chapter 14

My dear readers and reviewers, I love you all…. Although I think you hate me for the cliffie, huh? But I found out that cliffies do wonders to the reviews count, lol. ….

Mostly threats of course ;)

Sweeties, don't fret… I'm here to make it better!!!

* * *

Coming home…

Chapter 14

I forgot about bed rest, forgot about premature contractions and medical advice. I just hopped out of bed and ran to the door of my apartment as quickly as I could. I threw it open, then took in a deep breath, wanting to race after him, despite the fact that my surroundings started to look a little blurry…. but then I spotted him sitting on the stairs, his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped.

"Booth." I choked and I saw his back stiffen, but he didn't acknowledge my presence with a single word. I wanted to tell him everything, but then a sudden wave of nausea hit me and I had to grab the doorframe to keep my self from falling. "Oh." I made, desperately trying to hold myself upright…. I wouldn't have made it, if Booth had not suddenly been beside me, holding me. "Careful." He murmured, steadying me, obviously concerned despite the fact that he had been ignoring me only a moment before.

I held on tight to him, my eyes filled with tears and my head somehow spinning. "It's yours." I forced out. I felt his grip on my arms tighten a little. "What?" He gasped in surprise, but I couldn't say anything else as I fought down another wave of nausea. "Need to lie down." I choked out after a moment. "Bed rest."

Booth didn't say a word, he just scooped me up in his arms and carried me back inside, into my bedroom and carefully laid me down on my bed. I closed my eyes and tried to even my breathing, tried to calm down. I knew my nausea and dizziness resulted from low blood pressure. I simply had stood up too fast, my body had not been able to adjust to the change after being in an horizontal position for days – only occasionally interrupted by slow and unsteady trips to the bathroom.

Just low blood pressure, I told myself. I took another calming breath and gently laid my hands on my stomach. There was no abdominal pain, so I hoped my hurried trip from bed had not caused any damage. It had been a stupid, impulsive thing to do to race after Booth like that… but I had not been thinking, just reacting.

I blinked my eyes open and stared at the man sitting on the edge of my bed. Wordlessly he helped me drink a bit of tea, then supported me sitting up, had put a pillow behind my back, drawn the comforter around me. But all the time I saw the question in his eyes, as his gaze slid to my stomach.

"It's yours, Seeley. Your child." I said with a tremor in my voice.

His eyes widened as he stared at my abdomen and for a long agonizing moment he didn't say anything. "My child?" He repeated incredulously, his voice hoarse.

"Yes. I found out eight weeks after you were gone." I confirmed, my voice unsteady.

"But….but…" He stammered and his eyes darted to my nightstand…and I could guess what he was thinking. We both knew that the top drawer contained a box of condoms. A box of condoms that was missing four little packages since that one night six months ago.

"I know." I smiled a tiny, humourless smile. I remembered how shocked I had been when I had found out about my pregnancy and knew what thoughts had to play through Booth's head now.

"We forgot in the shower." I explained. "And once is all it takes."

"My God." He said. And then he remained silent for what seemed an eternity, but probably only was a minute or two in reality. He just stared at my belly, stunned.

Then his hands jerked, moved towards me… and stopped. Slowly he took his eyes from my abdomen and looked at my face.

"Can I…" He paused. The fact that he hesitated somehow hurt. And on the other side, I understood that he had to feel as if his world had just turned up side down…. Just like I had felt months ago.

One night of great sex and a one-sided declaration of love … how should he have known I felt the same, how should he have even imagined the night might have lead to THIS?

I took his hovering hand in mine and simply placed it on my abdomen.

"It's your child, too." I whispered with tears in my eyes and heard him choke.

His warm hand on my skin seemed to be the only thing that was important now, the feeling of him touching my womb where the life we had unknowingly created together was growing.

And as if the baby knew it was his father touching, it kicked lightly against his palm. Tears were running down my face, but I let out a shaky laugh. "It knows it's you." Which was irrational, but I didn't care. My vision was a little blurred, but I saw how Booth stared at my stomach in awe, then his shoulders started to shake a little. "A baby." He choked out and I heard the emotion in his voice. He was crying, just like me and for some time we both were not able to utter another word.

"Is it… are you healthy?" He asked softly after some time, his warm hand still gently resting on my stomach, his eyes fixed on the sight of it.

I nodded. "It develops just as it should. It took some time until I first felt it move, but now it's quite agile." As if on cue, I felt another movement in my womb. "As you can feel." I added, smiling.

Another long moment of silence passed by. "But… you're on bed rest." He commented, his voice barely audible. "Why?"

"I… had premature contractions two days ago." I answered and I heard him suck in air audibly.

"What happened?" He whispered.

I took in a deep breath. "There was a news report… about your operation in Philadelphia." My voice trembled as I recalled that horrible moments when I had thought I had lost him. I started to recite the headline "Fourteen paedophiles arrested. Eight children rescued. And… one agent killed" My voice trembled "I .. thought you were dead." I hiccupped and new sobs tore through me, shook my body. I felt Booth's strong arms come around me.

"Bones." He whispered in my ear. "They got it wrong… nobody was killed."

"I know." I choked out. "I know that now, but I didn't know then. I thought you were dead... and the contractions started. Then I passed out… I woke up in the hospital a few hours later."

He winced. "God, Temperance." He whispered, his strong hands rubbing gentle circles on my back as I slumped against him. "Damn reporters."

"I thought you were dead and it hurt so much." I mumbled against his chest, sniffling. "I love you."

He stilled, went completely rigid for an instant, but then I felt him shift, felt him pull back a little. He cupped my tear-wet face with trembling hands. "Temperance." My name nothing more than a barely audible whisper on his lips, then he kissed me, the tears on both our faces mingling.

It was like coming home, kissing him again.

After some time he pulled back "I'm sorry that you had to go through this." Booth said softly, while his thumb gently brushed my tears from my cheek. "I love you, Temperance." He murmured and he kissed my forehead. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I said and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "We missed you."

I felt his breath hitch. "That's what you said… when we talked on Parker's birthday. You knew then… but you didn't tell me." There was no accusation in his voice, just… a little hint of hurt.

I clung to him. "I wanted to. But you were in danger all the time… and I know what a shock it was to find out I was pregnant. You would have been worried and… less concentrated. I thought it would be safer that way. I didn't want you to be in more danger. I'm sorry."

He remained silent for a long time and I closed my eyes, afraid he would pull back any moment now and tell me how angry he was at me for keeping this secret. Afraid part of my nightmare would become true, though I never believed in precognition.

Instead he whispered "You shouldn't have been alone."

Relief poured through me. "You're not angry at me? For not telling you." I asked.

"I…. " He paused and sighed. "I'm angry that I couldn't be here. But not at you…. I understand why you felt you couldn't tell me. But … God I missed so much… and you were alone. I wish I could have been here."

"I'm sorry, Booth, so sorry. But when I went to see Cullen he told me what your work was about… and that he couldn't pull you off the case." I sighed.

"Cullen knows?" Booth asked, stunned.

"It's kind of hard to hide now. Everybody knows I'm pregnant." I answered.

"He knows… it's mine?" He asked slowly.

"Yes." I confirmed and felt him tighten his hold on me slightly.

"Who else knows?" Booth wanted to know, his voice just above a whisper..

"They all know, Booth. Angela was the first I told, then Cullen and Cam… I … You…" I suddenly felt a little cold as a terrible suspicion surfaced. "You didn't want them to know?"

"No, God… Bones. How could you think that? But… does Parker know?" His voice was hoarse and I pulled back to look at him. "Parker knows I'm pregnant, since it's a little hard to hide. But he doesn't know it's your child." I clarified. "Rebecca guessed it, though…. but she promised not to tell him. I thought… that was your place."

I heard him sigh. "Okay." He said. "Good. Thank you." Then he let out a shaky breath. "I missed so much, God I wish I could have been here."

"I know." I sucked in a deep breath, then pulled back a little. "I have something for you. I know it's not… it's never going to be enough, but…" I reached for the folder containing the journal and handed it to him. "What is this?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"A journal. Like…. a diary. It was Angela's idea. I… wrote down everything since I found out I was pregnant. It's all in here, every…. craving I had and every appointment and…" I swallowed hard as I saw the stunned look at his face. "….the ultrasound pictures and… everything."

I saw his throat work as he tried to say something, but no sound came out. I gently took the journal from his hand and flipped it open to show him the last ultrasound picture, which was only two days old. "Look." I whispered.

He blinked "That's… our child?" He asked, his voice sounding odd, not quite like himself.

"Yes. This was taken when I was in the hospital two days ago" I said.

"And... look, that was when I felt it move for the first time." I pointed to the respective entry a few weeks back.

He stared at the page. "You wrote down the time." Booth said in amazement.

"Uh-uh." I nodded. "I wrote down everything. You couldn't be here, but I … wanted you to know all this. You have a right to know all this."

There was a long moment of silence "Thank you, Bones." He said, the three words thick with emotion. "You have no idea what this means to me and I'm going to read every single word….. but now… I… God, I just want to hold you… Is that alright?" The look in his eyes was almost pleading and once again I felt so much emotion in me, I could hardly contain it.

Instead of answering with words, I simply lifted the comforter by my side and looked at him.

He smiled, took off his boots and crawled in bed with me to hold me. Just like I had wanted him to so often this past months.

I couldn't remember if I had ever felt so content before, so at home and safe and fell asleep in his arms.

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And now, all together: AWWW! Or at least I hope you think this has been heart wrenching. If not, I guess I have to give up writing all together....

Hopeful, pleading puppy eyes? Reviews, puuuu-lease?


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you. Thank you . Thank you.

It's all I can say, really. Thank you for reading, thank you for reviewing, especially people who actually review on every single chapter – you're my heroes!!! Glad you liked the way I had them talk it out!

So, here we go, the next chapter is ready.

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Coming home…

Chapter 15

I woke up to the sound of suppressed, but still audible laughter. I blinked, wondering who would be laughing in my bedroom. And it almost sounded like…. Quickly, I turned. Or at least, I tried to, once again – in the haziness of waking up – forgetting about my big pregnant belly. What was supposed to be a quick flip ended as an ungracious move with my feet tangled up in the comforter. I grunted in discomfort, but when I looked up at the man who was sitting in the bed beside me, I forgot about everything else.

"Booth." I whispered and he smiled down at me. "Hey sleepy head." He replied gently and I had to clench my teeth tightly to contain the – embarrassing – tears that were threatening to gather in my eyes again. "What's wrong, Temperance?" Booth asked me, of course noticing that I was trying to fight some kind of emotion. "It's just… you're here. I…" I took in a deep breath. "… I'm not dreaming?"

"No." He said, leant down and covered my mouth with his, kissing me gently. "But maybe I am." Booth said after he had pulled back and I shook my head. "No, you're not." We grinned stupidly at each other for a while, neither of us saying a word.

"Why were you laughing?" I asked, remembering what had woken me.

"I'm reading your journal." Booth answered. "And it makes you LAUGH?" My eyes widened and I felt a little affronted. Hours and hours of writing down my feelings – and it had been very hard for me to analyse myself - and he was laughing?

"It made my cry too." Booth answered and covered my stomach with one of his big hands. "What you wrote in here, how you describe everything. It's… a wonderful gift, Bones. I'm so glad you did this." He gave me a smile that made me feel warm from head to toe. "I was laughing at Angela dressing down Cullen. Only she could get away with something like that." I had to smile, remembering the various occasions when Angela had yelled at Cullen.

"Which time?" I asked, stifling a yawn and trying to sit up. Booth helped me, stuffed a pillow behind my back. "Thank you." I said and he just smiled at me again. The situation felt somehow unreal to me. I was happy he was here with me, I was glad the father of my child had come home safely… but it still felt as if it could just … turn out to be a dream any minute.

"What do you mean which time?" Booth asked, frowning a little.

"Angela went with me to see Cullen… at least three times. And ended up yelling at him every time." I answered and had to chuckle as I watched his eyes widen in shock. "Don't worry, Cullen seems to like her, despite all that."

"Thank God for that." Booth commented and then his gaze settled on my stomach.

"Thank God for that." He repeated, but his tone had changed, was gentle now and still full of wonder. A few moments ago he had just reached out and covered my abdomen with his hand without thinking. Now he gazed at me, questioningly. "You don't have to ask." I said, biting my bottom lip. "It's… still awkward, isn't it?" I whispered after he had overcome his hesitance and his hands were on my belly.

"Yeah… " Booth answered slowly. "You know… I had all these fantasies of how we would meet again. None of them …" His voice trailed off as he stared down at my abdomen.

"You didn't exactly dream of this." I sighed and closed my eyes. "I understand."

"No… Bones. You don't understand." Suddenly I felt one hand move away from my stomach. He cupped my cheek with it, the feeling of his warm, rough palm against my skin oddly comforting. "None of these fantasies was quite so perfect. I dreamed of you and me having a family. Minus me going away for half a year, though. I always wanted this with you… but you were the one talking about NOT ever having children. And I wasn't even sure you want to… be with me, Temperance. So, I thought it would just always stay exactly that: a dream."

I blinked back tears, once again amazed – and a little annoyed – at how easily I was driven to cry these days. On the other hand, what Booth just had said to me was beautiful and full of emotion… certainly the most touching words anybody had ever said to me.

"I want to be with you." I whispered. "And… I didn't actually plan to have a baby… but when I found out…. I just couldn't …" I frowned a little. A few months back I had thought about abortion… for a short time only, but I had considered the possibility. The easy way out. Now I didn't even want to say the word. My hands moved – as if on their own volition – to my belly, covering it protectively, brushing against Booth's hand.

"I read it." Booth whispered. "You wrote it all down. All your doubts and how you made your decision. I'm so glad you didn't give up on this. On us." He gazed at me and I saw sincerity in his brown eyes.

"Aren't you… you know…. I mean in three months we're going to have a baby." I swallowed hard. "I can't even really believe it myself and I had months to get used to the thought. You only had… what? Three hours?" I glanced at the alarm clock beside my bed. I had been asleep for about two and a half hours.

"I'm overwhelmed. I'm excited and … I won't lie to you, Bones, I'm also a little afraid. But… I've never been more positively shocked in my life. It's… amazing. Yeah, that's it… I'm amazed." He gave me an intense look. "I will need time to get fully used to this. But it's way easier to get accustomed to a dream come true than anything else." Then he suddenly moved closer and kissed me… deeper than before, hungrily. "I love you." He whispered against my lips. "I always wanted you in my life."

"How long?" I asked, my curiosity taking over.

He touched his forehead to mine. "I don't know. A long time, Bones. I don't remember how it was before anymore." A soft kiss to my lips followed this statement.

"Why did you… never…" I stopped because I knew the answer myself. Cullen's shocked and angry reaction at Booth being 'unprofessional'.

Booth's next words surprised my however. "I didn't know how you'd react. I feared you would just… run away from me or rationalise this. I thought I'd give you time and… see what happens."

I blinked slowly. "How long would you have waited?" I asked, amazed by what he had told me.

"I don't know. I'm glad I don't have to think about it anymore. The night I had to say good bye to you… I couldn't just leave without letting you know how much you meant to me. Just… in case." He answered seriously, his eyes darkening for a moment. "You know, I came to your apartment and all I wanted to do was to tell you that I love you. Instead I jumped you like an animal."

I had to smile, my body temperature rising as I remembered how we had spent that night. "We were both there, Booth. I don't regret anything. Except, that when you left, I was too… afraid and surprised to tell you what you mean to me. That's all I regret." I had barely finished the sentence, as his mouth covered mine. He kissed me both tenderly and passionate, a mixture of feelings only he was able to convey with a kiss. Warmth spread through me… warmth that was going to turn into heat soon, if he kept on kissing me like that.

"Ow." I made as the baby kicked.

"Hm?" Booth made and pulled back. "Did I hurt you?" The concern on his face was obvious.

I shook my head. "The baby kicked." I explained and a soft smile spread on his face as he looked at my stomach.

"Not used to sharing your mother, hm?" He murmured. Then he slid down and slowly and carefully tugged up the hem of my shirt. He did not ask for permission, not with words, not with his eyes. I had no objections to it… and though it might not be rational, my heart actually jumped at his action. This was how it was supposed to be between us, I thought. No awkwardness, no asking for permission. It was his child growing in me and I had been hungering for his contact for months.

He crouched in front of me, gazing at my midsection and then slowly, very slowly he leant forward and gently kissed my rounded belly. "I'm here now, baby. You'll have to get used to sharing your Mum because I plan to stay." He looked up into my eyes then and I saw the raw emotion in his…. wonder and love. "Can it actually hear me?" He asked, his voice hoarse

"Yes... voices, music… it can sense sound already, but of course it doesn't make any sense to the unborn baby. Though… It sounds stupid, but I think the baby likes Foreigner." I had to smile as he gave me a stunned look. "Foreigner?" He repeated.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I've been listening to the CD quite often. It reminds me of you."

Booth just looked at me for a very long time, then he laughed. "God. Who would have thought. You always tried to explain everything with science and in reality, you're sentimental and romantic."

His words surprised me… and I was not quite sure if it had been a compliment or not. Was being sentimental good?

"Don't look at me like that." He grinned. "I think it's great, Bones. I'm glad you don't hide behind science but tell me what you really feel." Then his gaze slid to my stomach again.

"Guess I should be talking to our baby frequently… you know… to make sure it's getting used to my voice."

"I doubt it makes a difference if you talk to me or to the child, Booth. It might be able to hear sound, even get used to the timbre of your voice, but it doesn't actually know what you're talking about." I threw in and he chuckled. "I know, Bones. And I guess… we do have a lot to talk about."

"Yes… yes we have a lot to talk about." I nodded. "But for now, it can wait, right? Because I'm… really hungry." I was almost ashamed to admit to something so mundane when we had important things to discuss. But I was really hungry and the baby tended to get restless when I didn't eat regularly.

"Well, then I better make sure you get something to eat, right? Can't have you two starving. What should I get you?" Booth asked eagerly and I closed my eyes and considered the possibilities for a moment. "There's lasagne in my fridge, I think. Yes… lasagne…" I nodded, my mouth watering at the mere thought.

He laughed at my face. "God, you've got a dreamy look on your face." He kissed me quickly "I'm glad I'm here now. I'm glad I can take care of you now. I'll just go heat up that lasagne, okay?"

"Don't make it too hot. It tastes better when it's only lukewarm." I informed him and he grinned. "Can't argue with that. I love you, Bones. God, I can't tell you how much." He kissed my forehead and left the room, but he paused in the doorway, looking back at me and my still bared belly. The look he gave me was full of … love.

It took my breath away... as impossible as it sounds.

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Soooo, hope you liked this chapter. Enough of the fluff-stuff? Reviews would be GREAT!


	16. Chapter 16

Awww, sweeties, thank you all so much. So glad you liked the fluffy chapter from before. THANK YOU!!!

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Coming home…

Chapter 16:

I heard Booth rummage around in my kitchen and sighed in contentment. He was back, we were all safe… and he was preparing something to eat for me. So, everything important was taken care of.

I tugged the hem of my shirt back down, giving my pregnant belly a swift, gentle caress. We were a family now… sure, there were still a lot of things to talk about, many aspects of this change in our lives we would have to discuss, but I was so glad he had come back home everything else seemed … unimportant, pale and rather distant. During the past months the pregnancy had made me change, had changed my perspective considerably. I didn't have to live for work anymore. I had something else now: Booth and our child.

My cell phone started ringing and I reached for it … just as I had thought it was Angela calling, presumably to get details on Booth's reaction.

"Brennan." I answered.

"Sweetie, how are you? Everything good between Booth and you?" Angela asked, concern in her voice.

"Yes. Everything is… perfect." I answered and took in a deep breath, not sure how to sum up how I felt.

"Oh, oh, I'm so happy. I knew he didn't just run out again, so I thought everything had to be okay… but when you didn't call at all I got worried." Angela rambled.

"I fell asleep… Hold on, why do you know he didn't leave?" I frowned at her words.

"Your Dad was waiting in the car for about half an hour after Booth went up. Just to make sure. If he had left, your Dad would have come to take care of you." Angela explained calmly. My breath hitched for a moment upon hearing her words. So caring, so thoughtful of her and my father….

"Thank you for thinking of that." I said, my voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for everything, Ange. I don't know if I thanked you enough this past months. You and my father really helped me a lot."

"Bren… I told you, you're like a sister to me. Don't sweat it." Angela gave back. "So how did Booth take it?"

"Ah… at first he was shocked." I decided not to tell her about how Booth had suspected for a moment it could be another man's child. It had been the shock talking, of course. "But now he's happy. He's been reading the journal while I was asleep. He… " My throat constricted once again as I remembered how he had kissed my stomach, how we had cried together. I choked. "…I'm so glad he's here now, Angela, I can't even describe it."

"I'm happy for you, Sweetie. I really am. Though I have to admit I'll miss it a little to be going to your appointments with you." She said with an audible smile in her voice. "So, where is your stud? Can I talk to him too? I've been dying to congratulate him."

"He's in the kitchen…." I started to explain, but even as I looked up, Booth appeared in the doorway, balancing a tray. "No, he's back now. With food." I heard Angela chuckle as I watched how Booth set the tray on the bed and gave me a questioning look. "Angela wants to talk to you." A smile curved his lips as took the phone out of my hand. "Hey Angela."

I reached for the plate with lasagne, but didn't start eating yet… Instead I watched him talking on the phone. Watched as he suddenly laughed out loud and grinned goofily. "Thank you." He said into the phone and then he added. "I'll do that, believe me…" He listened for another moment, then he nodded. "Yeah. You too. Bye Angela."

Then Booth ended the call and looked at me. "Why are you not eating?"

"What did she say?" I asked curiously. He grinned cockily. "She congratulated me on being such a stud." I rolled my eyes." Told me to take care of you or she'll make my life miserable… the usual things." He said in a deliberately bored voice.

"She threatened you?" I arched an eyebrow at him. Somehow I could not see Booth intimidated by that, but still. After yelling at Cullen so often, it seemed Angela had developed a taste for threatening federal agents. A dangerous hobby.

"Baby, she loves you. She's worried about you. But there's no need to be worried, because I fully intend to take care of you, to be there for you and the baby. If you let me." He planted a quick kiss on my lips. "Now eat, your stomach is growling."

I wolfed down my lasagne in record time, since I had indeed been pretty hungry. When I was finished, he wordlessly took the plate away and put the tray on the nightstand. "Temperance..." He addressed me seriously, sitting on the edge of my bed, and I looked up at him. "Can I stay with you?" He blurted and I frowned a little in confusion. "Sure. I thought you'd do that anyway." I gave back.

"No… I mean… God, this is awkward." He hesitated and I studied his face, the doubt, the insecurity in his eyes. It had been half a year, but somehow I could still read him pretty well. The past months had not changed the bond between us, maybe even intensified it. I might be horrible at reading other people, but he… he mattered most to me and somehow I guessed what this was about.

"Do you want to move in with me?" I asked, the same moment he said. "I don't want us to live separately." We stared at each other, amazed at how much we had been thinking in sync, then he smiled tentatively. "I would love to move in with you. Your apartment is bigger than mine and I want to be with you and… our baby. A family should be together."

"Yes. Yes it should." I whispered. He leant forward to press a kiss to my lips. "I don't want to miss out on anything else from now on." He gently cupped my face with his hands. "I want to know how it is to live with you. With your moods and your cravings… and everything." I kissed him back, trying to show him how much I wanted him to do exactly that… but something intruded on this wonderful moment and I bit back a curse.

"Booth?" I asked, almost shyly. "Yeah?" He murmured, his eyes staring into mine.

"I need to use the bathroom." I whispered, somehow embarrassed. Way to ruin the moment, I thought. But I had no choice, the urge was there. It was my usual routine… shortly after having eaten I NEEDED to pee. Urgently. One of the many side effects of pregnancy… a perfectly normal development, but still… inconvenient.

He chuckled softly and helped me up. "I'm sorry." I mumbled. "But lately I need to use the bathroom quite often."

"No need to be embarrassed, Bones. Do you need me to help you?" He asked me and I actually blushed a little, felt the heat in my cheeks. "Ah, no, I can do that all on my own." I assured him.

"I meant on your way to the bathroom, not in there." He winked at me.

"Oh… I think I can manage." I said and rose to my feet slowly, then wobbled to the bathroom, knowing he was watching me. Moments later I closed the door behind me and made my way to the toilet, took care of what had needed to be taken care of.

Afterwards I just stood in front of the mirror for a moment, regarding my reflection. My face was blotchy and pale and my hair dishevelled. And still, Booth had given me a look of love. It was puzzling and still unfamiliar, somehow awkward, but he was the first man I trusted so completely it didn't really matter what I looked like. I loved him, more than I had ever thought possible.

I washed my face and gathered my hair into a neat ponytail, then opened the door to my bedroom again, where Booth was waiting for me. He was stretched out on my bed… our bed… his eyes fixed on me. "We're going to get used to this in no time, Bones. You know why?"

I gave him a questioning look, while I made my way back to the bed. "Because I love you. And you love me. And we're going to be a great family." He said with conviction. He opened his arms for me and I snuggled into his embrace. "So, you're going to give up your apartment?" I asked after a moment.

"Yeah. Well…I mean… I guess you have a nursery here. Oh…ah… do we have room for Parker, too? You know he sometimes stays with me… If… that is okay with you." Booth asked hesitantly, obviously unsure about my reaction.

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I really like Parker, you know that. We can turn the guest room into a room for him and my office is going to be the nursery. We need to start on that soon… I haven't done anything yet, I wanted to wait for you."

"Really?" Booth asked and I nodded against his chest. "It seemed … relevant that we could do that together." I still hadn't figured out WHY I had insisted on waiting for him. It just had felt right.

"It means a lot to me, Bones. It does, believe me. God…. I don't want to go to sleep, I fear I'll wake up and all this was just a dream." He said, his voice shaky.

"It's not just a dream, Seeley. I'm so glad you're back. I'm glad we can pick out stuff for the nursery together and think of names and… I was so afraid you wouldn't come back until after the baby was born…." My voice trailed off.

"Names." He took in a deep breath. "Temperance…. you don't know the sex of the little one yet, right?"

"No." I answered. "If you want to know it, the next appointment is in two weeks."

"I don't need to know. I kind of like that it's a surprise." He murmured into my hair and I had to smile. "Me too. Angela insists that it's going to be a girl, claiming she has some ominous sixth sense for that." I smiled as I thought back at how she'd told me that. "I wouldn't count on her being right, though."

"I don't care if it's a boy or a girl… I just want it to be healthy. So… the next appointment is in two weeks…" Booth said slowly.

I nodded again. "Yes. Until then I'm on bed rest. The appointment is on Friday, one pm. My gynaecologist will be excited to finally meet you after all this time."

"So… you do want me to go with you." He whispered and I craned my neck to look up at him. "Of course. Did you think I'd ask you to move in with me and then not want you to come with me to an ultrasound?" I frowned a little, not quite grasping the base for his insecurity. Why would I want to shut him out now?

"No.. it's just…" He gave me a forced smile. "Rebecca never allowed me to go with her when she was pregnant with Parker… I'm… really looking forward to it. To see the baby moving on the ultrasound… listen to it's heartbeat." There was a tremor in his voice and I knew that it meant a lot to him.

"I'm not her. I want to raise this child with you, Seeley." I said and after a moment of silence I added in a low murmur. "I might even say yes to things she said no to." The words surprised even myself, but I didn't regret saying them, not really. I heard Booth suck in air audibly, but I simply continued talking. "There's a catalogue for baby stuff over there. Would you… you know… like to have a look together?"

Booth remained silent for a while, then he pressed a gentle kiss on top of my head and pulled back to reach for the catalogue. "I'd love to, Bones." He simply said. And I was not quite sure if he was only talking about looking at furniture for the nursery or if the statement hid some deeper meaning.

It didn't matter, because now we had time to think of all these things, of all these decisions that were to be made. Together. Finally.

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Reviews would be AWESOME! Next chapter might be when they tell Parker, but I'm not sure yet.


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you all so much… you're simply the best readers I could wish for. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

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Coming home…

Chapter 17:

I heard the door bell ring and instantly, I got more nervous. I knew that Rebecca's sister was dropping off Parker. Parker was going to spend the day with us…. And I was nervous about what we had to do. Telling him that the baby in my womb was his little half sibling. There were so many ways this could go wrong, but despite my worries I had to smile as I thought back at how he had asked me about my big belly.

Obviously one of his class mates had explained that women trade the big belly for a burping and crying little baby that was constantly in need of changing diapers. I explained to him that the baby was in there, growing, waiting until the day it was ready to be born. Parker was a bright boy and had quickly grasped the concept… he had however never asked who might be the father of my child. Things like that seemed not to worry a child his age. And he had never seen me with a man… how was he supposed to suspect his Daddy was also my unborn child's father?

How was he going to react now? I wondered. We not only were going to tell him about Booth being the father of the baby, but also that he was going to move in with me… in fact he had not really left my apartment in the past three days. In total he had been gone about four hours for a meeting with Cullen at the Hoover building, then a visit at Rebecca's. When he had come back he had thanked me for making Cullen talk to the insurance companies. It had been four weeks after Parker's birthday when they had finally settled their argument and come to a reasonable decision… and Rebecca and Parker could try to live as normal as possible considering the circumstances. At least now, they had

But now the stability the boy had gained was going to be shattered. I was afraid of Parker being mad at me or his father. As always, the baby took offense at my uneasiness and rewarded me with strategically well-placed kicks in the general direction of my bladder and the sudden urge to go to the bathroom arose. Again.

I closed my eyes, straining my ears to hear what Parker and his father were talking about in the living room… and ignored the need to use the toilet. I was not going to let myself get dictated like that, I told myself. Whatever would it be like to be nine months pregnant? Would I have to use the toilet every ten minutes?

Parker and Booth's voices grew louder as they approached my bedroom and I took in a deep breath. "Hey Bones." Parker greeted me and gave me a worried look. "Is your baby-tummy still upset?"

I had to smile at his question. "Yes. That's why I still need to be in bed, you know."

"But the baby is not sick?" He asked and I shook my head. "No… this is just precaution." I explained and the seven year old frowned. "What's pre..gotshon?"

Booth laughed. "It's like wearing a helmet when you're driving a bike, buddy. You may not need it, but it's better to wear it in case something happens. Bones has to stay in bed, just to make sure everything's alright. Better safe than sorry."

He sat down on the edge of my bed and his son nodded understandingly, obviously he had heard explanations like that one quite often. Parker moved closer his eyes fixed on my abdomen thoughtfully for a while. "Doesn't it have to come out for air?" He blurted.

The question took me aback. Of course – seen from the view point of a seven year old – the inquiry was perfectly logical. Distantly I remembered lecturing him on dolphins and whales and why they had to come to the surface from time to time. "No, Parker. " I shook my head. "Not yet."

Booth and I exchanged a look. Both of us hoped that the boy would be satisfied with this answer, but we knew better. "Why not yet?" Came the next question, as anticipated.

Under different circumstances I would have laughed at the panicked look at Seeley's face, but unfortunately I shared the sentiment. I could hardly let him do all the explaining, when Parker had addressed the question at me…. and had still no idea that Booth was the father of the child.

An idea struck. "Parker, you remember how you got the medicine when you had the stomach flu?" I asked and the boy grimaced and nodded. "Uh-uh. I got an intrusion."

I bit back a smile. "An infusion or IV, yes. Well, that's similar you know. The doctor gave you the IV so that the medicine could enter your blood. And the baby gets all it needs through my blood until it's ready to be born."

Parker shot me a horrified look. "With needles?"

"No, no" I hurried to assure him. "Not with needles. It's more like…." I took in a deep breath and gazed at Booth for help, but he was simply staring at me and his son, a mixture of surprise and confusion on his face. No help at all, I decided.

"It's more like…a hose, you know." I said and Parker shot me a dubious look. Inevitably, the next question came. "But how 's that work?"

I sighed. Children that age were far to inquisitive…. On the other hand without curiosity nobody would learn anything… so Parker's question were probably a good thing. Uncomfortable right now, but a sign of interest.

"Your belly button is where the hose was cut off when you were born." I explained gently. "You didn't need it anymore then, you know." I tried to explain as gentle as possible. Parker frowned, dragged up his shirt and gave his belly button a long look, poking at it gently. "Did it hurt?"

"Cutting it off?" I asked and he nodded. "Do you remember that it hurt?" I continued and he shook his head. "Then I guess it didn't." I said and he bit his bottom lip, considering my words. Then he nodded. "Good. I don't want my little brother to hurt."

My eyes widened and I blinked, trying to make sense of what he just had said. My eyes darted to Booth, but he seemed just as shocked. "Parks…. ah...What did you just say?" His father asked.

"I don't want my little brother to get hurt." The boy emphasized as if he was talking to slow-witted fools. Maybe he was. "Could be a sister too, but I hope not, cause brothers are cool."

"How do you …. You know that I'm the father of the baby?" I heard Seeley gasp. He sounded surprised and confused… just like I felt, too.

"It's not a secret now, right? Mommy said when you're back and talked to Bones it's not a secret anymore." Parker frowned. "Did I do something wrong?" His lower lip quivered suspiciously. Since the accident Parker had become a little more sensitive and was easily upset.

"No, no." I shook my head. "YOU didn't do anything wrong, Parker."

I exchanged another look with Booth, at a loss of what to say now. Rebecca had promised me to keep quiet about the child's parentage, at least towards the boy. We had both agreed that it was the best solution to have Seeley explain things to Parker.

"Good." Parker sighed in relief. "Cos I'm not suppos'd to eavesdrop."

"Eavesdrop?" Booth repeated, his eyes narrowed at the boy and Parker fidgeted a little. "Mommy and aunt Rachel talked about Bones' baby. I shoulda been in bed, but I was thirsty and got up." He admitted hesitantly.

"You overheard them talking? Your mother didn't tell you?" I asked, just to make sure and Parker nodded. "But Mommy was right… right? You're the baby's daddy, too?" The blond boy gazed at his father with wide eyes, as if it only just occurred to him that what he had overheard might have been wrong.

'"Yes, I'm the baby's Daddy too." Booth said earnestly and a smile blossomed on Parker's face. "Cool."

"You're…. okay with that?" Seeley continued after a moment and Parker nodded. "Mommy told me Bones is having a baby… and then I asked her if I get to have a brother but she said she couldn't have any more babies cos of the accident. She said I had to ask you, Daddy. And then I heard her with aunt Rachel."

My face fell. I never had thought of how Rebecca's accident had also affected the possibility of her ever having children again. I clenched my teeth as a wave of compassion for the other woman hit me. Seeing me, knowing I was pregnant must have been painful for her. My eyes met Booth's and I knew he thought the same thing.

Parker didn't seem to notice our silence and merrily chattered on. "I'm going to be a big brother, right Daddy?"

"Yeah, kiddo." Booth said, his voice hoarse. "You're going to be a big brother."

"That's cool." Parker said, but then frowned a little. "But I don't have to share my room when I'm with you, Daddy, right?" He scrunched his nose thoughtfully. "Cause I don't want to. Mike says babies cry all the time." I suspected Mike was the class mate that had told the wonderous tale of bellies traded for babies.

Booth shot me a look. I kept my mouth shut, convinced that I had done enough explaining and that it was his turn now.

"Buddy, that's something else we need to talk about. You don't have to share your room. But… you know, I don't want Bones to be alone with the baby. So I thought I'd move in with her. Here in this apartment, so that we can be together. You can have your own room here and the baby too."

Parker narrowed his eyes a little and started to chew on his bottom lip, lost in thoughts. After some time he asked. "But I get to keep all my things?"

Booth smiled at his son. "Of course." He reassured the boy and Parker took in a deep breath. "Guess it's okay then. Where is my room?" I had to laugh… children were so easily distracted. Suddenly the fact that he was going to be a big brother was less interesting than the prospect of a new room. "Show him." I said and smiled at the two of them. "I need to go to the bathroom anyway."

"You've been there thirty minutes ago, Bones." Booth sent me a half-exasperated, half-worried look.

"Pregnant." I said in lieu of a lengthy explanation and he smiled at me. "I know." He closed the distance between us and brushed a kiss against my lips.

"Ew." Parker commented and Booth pulled back, laughed and ushered his son out of the room, while I pushed myself up and aimed for the bathroom. Again.

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Reviews would be AWESOME!


	18. Chapter 18

Hello everybody. So glad you liked the last chapter, the conversation with Parker. Thank you for reading and reviewing, you are the best!

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Coming home…

Chapter 18

The time until my next doctor's appointment went by pretty fast. Booth spent most of his time with me, since Cullen had put him on leave for some time after his half year long assignment and he didn't have to work. I had no objections whatsoever to that solution. Booth catered to my every wish and we had so many things to catch up to, so many things to talk about. We needed to get…. reacquainted with each other. Needed to get used to living with each other before the baby was born.

All in all we spent most of the time pretty harmonic with occasional bickering and one small argument about the furniture for the nursery. In the end, we settled on a pale yellow for the walls and wooden furniture with pale yellow and orange. Angela had surprised us with the offer to paint something for the baby on the wall and had made several drawings for us to choose from. The different sketches all looked great and we had a hard time deciding. But one thing was settled easily enough: The very first sketch we discarded was a clown. I had to laugh when I saw Booth cringe.

"No clowns." We said in unison. And after some consideration, we finally we agreed on a big teddy bear holding an orange balloon.

Angela was delighted with our choice and now we only had to wait for the furniture to arrive. My best friend wanted to make sure the colours she was going to use were exactly matching the furniture.

The things were scheduled to arrive in two weeks… seven months into my pregnancy. Angela kept talking about a baby shower, but that kind of tradition seemed odd to me. I had enough money to buy everything we were going to need for the child. Angela kept on nagging… but so fare she did not manage to wear my resistance down.

The argument kept me busy, at least. Just like talking about furnishing the nursery and Parker's new room and organising some things had kept Booth and me occupied enough, even though I was still on bed rest. And I had been grateful for the distraction… if not for Booth, my father and Angela the bed rest would have been unbearably boring.

And now I was leaving my apartment for the very first time since I had come back form hospital after the premature contractions had occurred two weeks ago. Seeley was walking beside me towards his car, his arm slung around my waist, intent on supporting me, maybe even carrying me, in case I needed it. I still had problems with low blood pressure and he was not going to take any chances, that much he had made clear before we had left the apartment. And though I was too proud to admit it, it felt good and secure to have his arm around me like that. I welcomed the contact…after all this was the first appointment with him, the very first time we would finally be able to look at the movements of our child on screen together.

During the drive to my gynaecologist we barely spoke, just exchanged looks from time to time. We both were nervous, although I had been feeling good these past few days. There was no sign anything might be wrong with our child, but maybe it is instinctive to feel anxious after the shock of the contractions two weeks ago.

I was biting my bottom lip, when Booth reached over and touched my hand. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." I heard the small tremor in his voice and knew he was saying the words because he needed to hear them himself as much as I did.

"I can't help being nervous." I said honestly and he squeezed my hand gently. "I know." He answered in a low voice and shot me another look. "I can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat." He said and I had to smile. I had heard the heartbeat before, but it still was a stunning experience… and I couldn't wait to see his reaction.

Soon we were admitted to my gynaecologist after waiting for only a few minutes in the waiting room.

Dr. Miller smiled at us, extending her hand. "You must be the father. So glad you are here today."

Booth shook her hand. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy I can be here, too." I heard the strain in his voice and knew he was remembering that he never had had the chance to come to an ultrasound when Rebecca had been pregnant with Parker.

"I understand your absence had been work-related?" Miller asked, making conversation with him while she motioned for me to lie down.

"Yes. I'm a federal agent and I was on an assignment." Booth answered, "But nothing could get me to leave again." His voice was sincere and I heard the unspoken promise in his words. He wasn't going to leave me again. I swallowed hard as he just reached over to squeeze my hand gently.

"Well, that's good to hear." Dr. Miller commented, then concentrated on me. "How are you feeling, Dr. Brennan. Any problems?"

I shook my head. "Not really. My blood pressure is a little low I think, but other than that I'm feeling fine. Except that I constantly need to go to the bathroom."

My gynaecologist smiled understandingly. "Yes, some women suffer from that, especially in the last weeks of the pregnancy. You're starting a bit early."

"Lucky me." I commented dryly and Booth snorted.

"But it's nothing to be concerned about. The blood pressure should stabilize itself too." Dr. Miller said with a smile in her voice. "No pain, bleeding?"

I shook my head. "I would have called." I said, frowning a little.

"Just asking." She took in a deep breath. "Well, then I think it is time to have a look at your child now." I nodded and tugged up the hem of my shirt, exposing my pregnant belly.

As so often before, she smoothed the lubricant over my skin, but this time it was not Angela busily chattering beside me, but a silent Booth holding my hand. And his breath. He watched every step of the procedure, his eyes fixed on my abdomen until finally a picture appeared on the screen.

And after a few adjustments and a bit of squinting, we were able to make out a distinct, small human figure. Booth's hand gripped mine a little tighter and I heard his sharp intake of breath as the baby moved a little.

It was a somehow odd for me to both feel the fluttering sensation of the foetal movement and see it happen on screen at the same time, but it was not unpleasant. Fascinated I watched the movement, comparing what I was seeing to what I was feeling.

The unmistakeable sound of the ultrasound picking up the heartbeat of the unborn baby filled the room. I glanced at the man beside me, saw how he stared at the screen in awe, his eyes full of emotion and unshed tears.

"Looks fine." Dr. Miller commented absently, studying the picture on screen. Then, with a short side glance to Booth, she started to explain a bit about the position of the baby, the movements and so on, but I was not sure if he was listening. He stared at the screen, transfixed as if he had never set eyes on anything that beautiful ever before.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?" Dr. Miller said after a while, clearly prolonging the examination for Booth's benefit. "Yeah." He croaked.

"Heart rate is fine." Dr. Miller said. "Weight and size are average."

Booth blinked and tore his gaze from the screen, looking at me. "Our baby." He just murmured and I had to drag in a deep breath. "Yes. Our baby." I simply said and he smiled down at me, his gentle, slow smile, not the charm smile he used when he was making jokes. It was a loving smile.

"Thank you." He whispered… and I knew he was thanking me for more than one thing in this very moment: He thanked me for not choosing abortion, for giving this child and us a chance. And for wanting him to be there, for letting him experience the ultra sound examination. We just stared at each other, perfectly understanding what the other was thinking without the need to say a word.

"Well, I think we're finished now. You want to take a picture with you, I assume?" Dr. Miller's voice interrupted the moment and we both nodded.

"Good." The physician reached for paper towels, presumably to wipe off the gel from my stomach, but Booth held out his hand and she placed them in his palm with a small and understanding smile. She rose and went to her desk, maybe to print the picture she had mentioned earlier.

Gently, slowly and thoroughly Seeley wiped off the lubricant from my skin, his eyes holding mine during the process.

And I had to admit to myself that Seeley Booth managed to transform even a simple thing like that into a sensual experience. For a moment I held my breath as I felt the baby move under his touch.

He felt it and froze, then his gaze turned so serious it almost frightened me for a moment.

"I love you." He whispered and in that very moment a feeling of rightness settled over me…

It might be irrational, not scientifically measurable, something I wouldn't have believed in before I had met him….but he was my home. My other half. And to hell with science. Not that I believed in hell.

My eyes filled with tears as I gave back. "I love you too." He leant down and kissed me gently.

The rest of the appointment went by in a blur.

I was not on bed rest anymore and allowed to work, although only a few hours per day and no strenuous activities, Dr. Miller said with a stern look and I just nodded.

Nothing else mattered beside the fact that the baby was healthy. And Booth was there with me.

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Soooooo, what to you say, did you like it? reviews would be awesome.


	19. Chapter 19

Hi thank you all so much for your reviews. Due to the glitch of the page I couldn't put up this chapter when I wanted to. Also, I was not able to answer reviews when I wanted to, so in case you didn't get an answer, that's why. Most of you will know that I try to answer each and every review personally.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

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Coming home…

Chapter 19:

"No baby shower." I frowned at my best friend. "I should have made a note of every time I told you that. I'm sure it's been more than twenty times by now."

"But, Bren…. Baby showers are cute and wonderful and… traditional. Come on, you as anthropologist have to be interested in the tradition." Angela whined. I seldom attribute words like that to somebody else, but Angela WHINED.

"Please, Ange, just give it a rest. I don't want a baby shower." I sighed and absently rubbed my belly. I was now nearly eight months pregnant and the baby was pretty agile. Especially at night. Needless to say I was not exactly thrilled about that, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it.

Well, I HAD found out that reading scientific research papers and things like that seemed to have a calming effect on the baby. Booth had commented that with a smirk and a sly: "Definitely my kid. Science bores the baby to sleep."

I had glared at him and informed him that the logic of science calmed me and that me being calm extended to the baby. Clearly my slowed down heart rate calmed the unborn child. Booth had busted that theory by asking: "And why doesn't the baby sleep when you're asleep, huh? Your heart rate can't get any calmer than while you're sleeping."

Oddly enough, we had discovered that his hand on my belly seemed to calm the baby, too. Maybe because it made me feel good.

"What are you thinking about?" Angela asked, studying my face. Obviously I had… zoned out again.

"The baby. Why it doesn't let me sleep at night." I informed her and she shrugged. "Well, duh. It's a baby. Keeping up the parents at unreasonable hours is in the manual."

"Manual, sure" I shook my head at her reasoning. "Besides, it only keeps up me."

"So far." Angela grinned at me. "As soon as it's born you can pass on half the work to Daddy."

"Not really." I sighed. "He won't be able to nurse the baby." I arched my aching back a little and got rewarded by an affronted kick from the baby. "Sorry." I mumbled. "But I have to move from time to time."

"What? I never said you shouldn't move." Angela gave me one of her most bewildered looks. I rolled my eyes at her. "The last part was not addressed to you, but to that little devil in there."

Angela stared at me for a while, then she burst out laughing. "You're not only talking to the baby – which is awfully cute, sweetie – no you suddenly believe in devils. That's too good to be true." She giggled.

"Very funny." I glared at her, giving her my best 'I'm not amused'-stare. The thing is, the stare didn't work on her. Never had, never will. It still worked on Booth, though, which amused me…. secretly of course.

"Cut out that evil eye." Angela grinned at me. "Doesn't suit you. What did the little devil do?"

"Kicked me. I just needed to move a little." I sighed and tried to stuff a pillow behind ma back. Wordlessly Angela rose to help me.

"So, about that baby shower…." Angela said and I silently shook my head. "Look, Ange. We're thankful for everything you've done for us. Painting the nursery and being there for me… but we don't want a baby shower."

"You don't want it." Angela said. "Maybe Booth wants it?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "You think Seeley wants a baby shower? You can't be serious?"

"Why? Maybe he WANTS it, is that so hard to believe? I bet there was a baby shower for Parker and he wasn't allowed to attend." Angela said and I frowned a little at that. "I doubt it." I said after a moment.

"That there was a shower?" Angela asked and I shook my head. "Not that." I had no doubt that Rebecca had had such a kind of social gathering. She struck me as exactly the type for that kind of thing.

"I doubt he wants that … party thing." I said after a moment.

"You doubt who wants what?" A male voice from behind me startled me for an instant, but since I was very familiar with the timbre, the shock only lasted for a split-second. It was still long enough for the baby to scold me for my reaction with another strategically well-placed kick. "Yeah, yeah." I mumbled and rubbed my abdomen soothingly. "Don't blame me, you father is the one who scared me."

"How have you two been today?" Seeley sat down beside me on the couch in my office. "The little one training martial arts again?" He asked and I snorted. "Something like that, yeah." Gently he laid a hand on my belly. The baby calmed instantly. Traitor.

From the corner of my eye I caught Angela watching us with a soft smile on her face.

"You're so sweet together." She suddenly blurted and I arched an eyebrow at her. "You just want to soften me towards your idea."

"What idea?" Booth asked, his hand still resting on my very pregnant mid-section, rubbing soothing circles.

"Baby shower." Angela said dreamily. "I'm still trying to convince her."

"You've been trying to convince her for months, Ange. Maybe you should just give it up. If she doesn't want it, we won't have it." Booth said and I sighed. "At last, somebody is supporting me." I pointed out.

"I'm always supporting you." He said with a smile and dropped a quick kiss against my temple.

"I just pointed out that maybe YOU want a baby shower." Angela interrupted us and I felt Booth stiffen beside me a little. "You do?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged lightly. "If you don't want a baby shower, we won't have it."

"Why would YOU want it?" I asked, intrigued.

"Why not? Celebrating your pregnancy, getting a lot of free stuff for the baby. I see no harm in it." He stared at me and I stared back, surprised by his words. "You WANT a baby shower?" I asked again. He shrugged lightly. "I can do without, Bones. I just don't see why it would be so awful to have it."

"We don't need all those presents. We're perfectly able to provide anything the baby needs." I said with a slight frown.

"Only because of the money you're making, Bones. We both know it. If we had to rely on my income, we'd be more than glad to get free stuff. Especially since all those baby things are pretty expensive." Booth said roughly. That he wanted to discuss this in front of Angela surprised me. I exchanged a quick glance with her and saw that she seemed to be a little uncomfortable now. Clearly she didn't want to be in the way of a financial discussion. Well, tough luck, SHE initiated the whole debate.

"That doesn't matter. We're doing this together, right?" I insisted and I saw the expression on his face soften. "Yeah. We're in this together." He nodded.

"Do you want a baby shower? Do you… I don't know… do you like this tradition?" I asked carefully.

"I think it's nice. But I don't need it, Bones. It's your decision." He said seriously and I melted.

Damn all these hormones. Angela had been trying to talk me into a baby shower for at least three months. And now I was sitting in front of Seeley and he told me seriously that he didn't need a baby shower. That it was my decision. That it was only because of my money we were able to provide all the things we needed for the child.

Which was not true….People earning less than him can make do, too. I had learned as a foster child how long you can wear the same pair of shoes until it fell apart. A long time.

But of course it was nice to have enough money not to have to worry about things like that.

Maybe it didn't exactly appeal to his – stupid alpha male – pride that I was able to buy everything we wanted to have for the baby. Maybe having a few things around that had come as presents would be easier for him to accept. And maybe the pregnancy hormones made me mellow and soft. At least of the last part I was perfectly sure. I gave in.

"Okay. Baby shower." I sighed. "But I'm not going to organize this. I don't know anything about this kind of thing and I …" My words died in Angela's squeal. "I'll do it. Everything. You don't have to lift a finger. Oh, this is great. Oookay… then let's see… next Saturday, okay, Sweetie? We gotta hurry before you pop."

"Pop." I glared at her. She had used that term before and I didn't like it. I had expressed my dislike, too, and she I was sure she remembered.

"Before you give birth to a beautiful little girl." She smiled sweetly at me.

"We don't know that." I scowled at her again. "Or a handsome little boy." She added. "By the way how's it going with the naming?"

Booth and I exchanged a long look. "We have names." He said and Angela smiled happily. "Finally."

She looked at us expectantly.

"For a boy…" Booth smiled at me. "Jason Bryan…. Bryan's my grandfather."

"And for a girl." I continued, smiling back at Booth. "Angelina Christine."

Angela just sat there and stared at us. "Christine after my mother. Well, her real name would have been Ruth, but that's not how I knew her, so it's Christine. And well…Angelina is a beautiful name… and it very similar to the first name of the godmother we have in mind. Seeley told me that would be traditional… you know."

"Oh my God." Angela looked from me to Booth and back.

"If you want to be godmother, that is." Booth added. Angela's eyes went huge and tears gathered in them. "Of course." She said, almost choking on the words.

After a moment of stunned silence, she moved towards me, hugging me gently. "Thank you, Sweetie. I'll do my best to be a good god mother."

"I know." I said…. And meant it. Then Angela pulled back and smiled at my belly for a moment before turning towards Booth and hugging him, too. "Thank you for your trust."

"Thank you for being there for her when I couldn't." I heard Booth say and Angela gave back a barely audible. "Always."

Then they broke apart and she smiled at me. "I would have never thought you'd agree to getting your child baptised."

Booth chuckled. "She didn't. Of course she didn't." He shook his head. "The baby's not getting baptised for now. But we wanted to name you godmother all the same."

"I think it's good to name a guardian for the child. It provides somebody to take care of the child… in case something happens to the parents." I added. "Seeley is catholic… but I'm not comfortable with… you know, religion. We agreed that we can postpone that decision."

"Yep. You can always get baptised… even as adult." Booth said. He had been very understanding, in my opinion. I had feared he would be adamant on that point, had feared we would argue about religion, but he had accepted that I didn't want the child to be baptised. Not yet, anyway. Maybe, one day, I'll get more comfortable with the idea. He had told me that having me in his life and having a healthy child was more important than baptising it. But he had also told me to consider looking at it more as a naming ceremony than as a religious act. I was not an idiot… of course he harboured hopes that I might change my mind.

"I don't want to say yes to this now and it might just be the hormones. I'm so emotional these days." I said, wrinkling my nose and Angela laughed. "Sure thing. I bet that after the child is born you'll just go from pregnant mode to mother hen mode and you'll maybe be even more emotional than now."

"I will not" I said, shocked by her words. "Right?" I gave Booth an uncertain look. I had developed emotions I had not known were hiding in me these past months. That I might feel something even more profound than the love for him and the unborn child seemed flat out impossible. And I had never been overly emotional. Wouldn't I be losing myself… somehow? "No" He said and kissed me on the nose. But I sensed that there was more behind his words.

Angela thanked us for wanting her as godmother again and soon left my office, muttering to herself about the baby shower.

After she had closed the door behind her, Seeley regarded me with a serious look on his face. "Things will change, Bones. You'll worry more. That's what parents do. Worry about their children." Booth said. "I mean right now you always know where the baby is and what's it doing, right?"

"Kicking me and not letting me sleep." I muttered, but we both knew I didn't really mean it.

"Safe." He said. "Right now, it's safe. As soon as it's born, you'll start to worry even more. About all kinds of things."

"Countless couples through history faced that problem and managed it. We will, too." I answered, then sighed. "But I admit I'm a little scared."

"Me too, Bones. I guess it's normal." He covered my pregnant belly with his hands, then smiled at me. "We'll just give our best to keep this child safe and be good parents. That ought to do the trick."

"Mhm." I nodded. "And we'll have Angela as godmother, too. People think she's harmless, but she can be scary if she wants to."

"I know." Booth winked at me. "She's been nagging about that baby shower for weeks."

I frowned at him suspiciously. "You DON'T want that thing."

"Not really." Booth grinned. "But now Angela is busy and we're getting presents out of it. A real win-win situation." We exchanged a look, then started to laugh until the baby kicked me in the bladder – again – and I had to use the bathroom.

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Well, please let me know what you think about this chapter. THANK YOU!!!


	20. Chapter 20

Hello again everybody! Thank you for reading and reviewing, you're all THE BEST!!!!

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Coming home…

Chapter 20:

"Win-win situation" I muttered to myself as I took in the decorations practically covering every surface in our living room. I shook my head. Angela had gone overboard, that much was clear to me. I just hoped she would take all that stuff with her after the party was over. The sheer amount of pink and blue balloons had me groaning.

"Sweetie, you want a virgin daiquiri?" Angela's voice travelled over to me from my kitchen. "Sure." I said. Mixing drinks kept her busy… and she had explained to me that drinks with the word 'virgin' in them were without alcohol.

All too soon she reappeared, drink in hand, smiling broadly at me. "Do you like it?" She asked, her eyes glinting. I let my gaze sweep over my – now – very colourful living room. "It looks interesting." I offered.

"Which translates to: you hate it." Angela sighed as she handed me my virgin daiquiri. I knew she had to have put a lot of effort into this…. spectacle.

"No, Ange…. I mean…. It's just overwhelming… I'm not really familiar with this tradition, so I was not sure what to expect." I said slowly, trying to soothe her. "It's obvious you worked hard, so… thank you, Angela."

"Aw thanks." She smiled at me. "And don't worry, I'll be doing all the cleaning up and get rid of the decorations and stuff."

I nearly sighed in relief. "So," Angela asked after glancing at her watch. "Where's Booth? In about half an hour everybody will be here and he hasn't shown up so far. I thought he'd want to be here before the others."

"I know." I said and absently rubbed my belly. The baby had taken up the new – and not appreciated – habit of kicking practically around the clock. As happy as I was to know that our child was healthy and apparently agile, I could have done without CONSTANT reminders. "He said he'd be here by six."

It was half past six, but I was not really worried…. Booth sometimes got held up at the Bureau. But usually he did call to let me know. I frowned a little upon that realisation and that caused the baby to pick up on my slight concern immediately and it kicked me - again. "Sh." I made and rubbed soothing circles on my belly. This whole day had been an ordeal with the baby constantly kicking. And I could have sworn it had turned. To top it all off, the new position had caused a throbbing back ache.

"Maybe I should call him." I said, but in that exact moment my cell phone rang. I tried to get my hands on it, but being eight months and one week pregnant brought along a serious loss in mobility. Angela snatched the phone up from the living room table and handed it to me. "Thanks." I said and glanced at the display. It was Booth.

"Hey." I greeted him.

"Hi, Bones." He said, his voice sounding a little odd, maybe even worried.

"You sound …. Is everything alright?" I asked, instantly concerned.

"Ah…. Depends." He said. "I'm fine…. But I'm stuck in the elevator."

"What?" I asked, not sure if I understood him right.

"I'm stuck in the elevator. I mean, the elevator is stuck. With me inside." He clarified.

"Where?" I asked.

"Ah, between floor 3 and 4." He said and I rolled my eyes at that information. Or rather the lack thereof.

"WHERE?" I almost yelled.

"Oh….Well, our building." He laughed, but it was more a sound of frustration than of humour.

"You're stuck in the elevator…." I sighed. "Okay…. Did you push the emergency button?"

"I'm not stupid, Bones. Of course I did. Three times." Booth answered, a little offended.

"And?" I asked. "Nobody answered. Guess it's not working." He replied. "Could you get somebody to get this damn elevator to move again, Bones? It's not exactly fun being in here."

"I'll get you out of there, Booth. I'll call you back, okay?" I answered and hung up before he could say anything else.

"Why does he need you to get him out of a stuck elevator in the Hoover building?" Angela asked frowning. "Don't they have maintenance personnel there?"

"He's not at the Hoover. He's here." I answered and pushed myself too my feet. My back ached and I groaned a little.

"What, here? As in… Are you saying THIS elevator is stuck? The one your guests are supposed to use to come up to your apartment at the 6th floor?" Angela looked horrified at that thought.

"Ange, Booth's in that elevator." I reminded her.

"Does that mean they'll all have to walk up? To the sixth level?" My best friend repeated and I glared at her. "Angela! There's not going to be a baby shower with Booth stuck in the elevator, okay? So, you either help me get him out of there or …" I left the sentence unfinished, but the unvoiced threat worked. Angela burst into motion. "Okay. Okay. Whom do we need to talk to?" She asked.

I exchanged a long look with her. "I have no idea." I answered. "But I intend to find out."

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Ten minutes later we had talked to two of my neighbours and finally found out who was in charge of facility maintenance in our building. The realisation that after living in the same house for more than four years I had had no idea whom to contact in case of an emergency like this one kind of shocked me. On the other hand my life had been pretty much focussed on work and my home had been the place I used to sleep, not… well, to live. I had never really had any interaction with my neighbours until a few months back I had started to leave the house at the same time as other human beings.

I now knew three of my neighbours by name and actually talked to them frequently. Being pregnant had really changed my life on many levels.

Now I was standing at the third floor in front of the elevator, Angela by my side. "Booth?" I yelled.

No answer.

I dug out my phone and called him and he answered immediately. "Bones?"

"Hey." I said. "I'm standing in front of the elevator doors at the third floor. You didn't hear me yell earlier?" I asked him.

"No. I think I'm actually more on the fourth than on the third, but I'm not sure." I heard him sigh.

"Somebody's going to be here soon and take care of the elevator." I said. "Ten or twenty minutes, they said."

"Great." Booth said with an audible lack of enthusiasm. "Thanks."

"I'll come up to the fourth floor, maybe we'll be able to talk without the phone then." I said.

"Bones, you shouldn't be wandering up and down the stairs all the time. You should be resting. You called these guys, they'll get me out, no problem. Just … sit down somewhere." He sounded concerned.

"Seeley, I'm pregnant, not sick. Walking one flight of stairs is not going to do me any harm. Besides, to get back up to our apartment I'll have to walk, too." I informed him while slowly making my way up the stairs, which made my back hurt… again. "Bye." I simply hung up on him.

"And your guests will have to walk up, too." Angela sighed beside me.

"Ange, everybody's perfectly able to walk the stairs." I rolled my eyes at her. "It's not the real problem here."

"I just wanted your baby shower to be perfect." She sounded miserable. "You know? And now everybody's going to have to walk up and it already starts bad."

"Booth's in the elevator." I reminded her. "that's really bad."

"I know. Sorry, sweetie." She said and sighed again.

"Booth?" I yelled when we were standing in front of the elevator doors at floor number four.

"Hey Bones." I heard his voice, muffled, but without doubt his. "How are you?"

"How are YOU?" I asked back, leaning against the cold metal of the elevator doors.

"Hanging in there." He answered and actually laughed. "That's going to be one great baby shower." I heard him say.

"Tell me about it." Angela muttered beside me. "I totally messed this up."

"It's not your fault." I said and rolled my eyes at her.

"I know that." I heard Booth say, sounding a little irritated.

"I was talking to Angela." I informed him.

"Oh, she's there too? Hi Ange." Booth greeted her cheerfully. The situation seemed somewhat surreal. "Hey sweetie." Angela gave back. "Did you, you know, try to pull the elevator doors open?"

"Doesn't work" He gave back. "Maybe you're not strong enough." I grinned, remembering that a long time ago he had tried to pull open doors like these before…. And failed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bones." He gave back. "There's nothing I could hook my fingers in." He added. "Damn."

"We could try from our side here." I suggested.

"No!" Seeley said forcefully. "You said somebody's coming. You're not trying to open these doors, Temperance, okay? You're pregnant, you take it easy."

"But Angela could help me…." I said, but Angela gave me a doubtful look. "Sweetie, I'm not exactly very strong. But your guests should arrive soon, so maybe they can help. I mean, we have Jack, Russ and you Dad coming, a few of Booth's colleagues… and Cullen."

"What?" Booth and I exclaimed at the same time. "You invited my boss to the baby shower?" Booth asked incredulously.

"Why not? Bren's boss will be here too." Angela said, unfazed.

"Yeah, but that's Cam…That's different. It's just…." I sighed. "I wish you would have asked before inviting him."

"Oh, no…" Ange grinned. "This is the best opportunity to rub it into his face that you two are totally happy with each other and I'm so going to enjoy seeing him squirm. That will teach him to talk about one night stands." I shook my head at her words and winced in anticipation of Booth's reaction.

"One night stands?" I heard him growl from the other side of the metal doors.

"Ah…" Angela had the decency to look suitably panicked. "You didn't tell him?"

"No, but thanks to you, Angela, he now knows." I narrowed my eyes at her, but my words were directed at Seeley. "Cullen thought our night together…. Well that it was only a one night stand."

"Asshole" Booth said.

"He's your boss." I gave back.

"If he thought for only a moment…" Booth started, but a male voice from behind Angela and me interrupted us.

"HE thought that, yes. But not anymore. Good evening, by the way." I winced. Deputy Director Cullen had to have come up the stairs without me hearing him. Angela's eyes were wide as she met my gaze. She hadn't heard him approach either.

"Oh, shit." Booth's voice became audible from the inside.

"You're early." Angela commented lamely.

"What's the situation?" Cullen asked, calmly meeting my gaze. I wondered if he had heard Booth's earlier comment, but I was not going to ask – for obvious reasons.

"The elevator is stuck between the third and fourth floor." I explained. "And Booth is in there."

"I gathered that." Cullen commented drily..

"Good evening, Sir." Booth's voice from the inside of the elevator sounded…embarrassed and meek.

"I overheard what you've been discussing. I think I apologised for my… very wrong assessment of the situation, Dr. Brennan." Cullen said, while eyeing the elevator doors, obviously searching for a way to open them.

"To me, yes. Not to Booth." I simply said. Cullen froze for a moment. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry, Booth. First, I had no right to be judgmental about your relationship at all… and second, I should have known better."

His words surprised me and Angela and I exchanged a wide-eyed looked. She, too, seemed stunned and usually my best friend was a better judge of character than me.

"Ah…" I heard Booth's voice from the other side of the doors. "Thank you, Sir, I guess. And… sorry for what I said earlier."

"I didn't quite catch it, anyway." Cullen said with the hint of a smile in his voice, then he tried to force the elevator doors apart, but without success.

"Let me help." I said and moved near him, but Booth's stern voice stopped me. "Bones, don't you even think of it. You. Take. It. Easy. I'm not claustrophobic, okay? I can stand another few minutes in here."

"I could offer my help, but… you know…" Angela looked at Cullen and shrugged. "I'm not exactly doing weight-lifting in my free time."

"Guess we will have to wait." Cullen said and I nodded. And there we were, standing in front of the elevator doors, looking at each other. Talk about awkward.

* * *

Ta-da. I'm working on the next one, don't worry. I hope you liked this chapter, the next one will pick up exactly where we left off. I just didn't want to make it too long.

Reviews would be AWESOME!


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you all again. So glad you still like this story and the last chapter with Cullen showing up ;)

And here we are, the next one is ready!

* * *

Coming home

Chaper 21:

"O-kay." Angela finally said overly cheerfully after some time of rather awkward silence. "Something to drink, anybody?"

"A beer would be nice." Booth answered sarcastically and I had to smile upon hearing his muffled words.

"Besides you, sweetie. Sorry." Angela grimaced and I had to laugh at the expression on her face. My mood changed quickly as I felt a sudden pain in my back. "Ow." I made and rubbed the spot, but the pain had subsided to a dull throbbing ache again.

"The little one bothering you again?" Angela asked compassionately and I nodded, but then I frowned a little. I had not felt the baby kick, so it had to be just the back ache, not the baby kicking my kidneys. "My back hurts." I stated. Well, to be more accurate, I think I actually complained.

Cullen gave me a long look. "You should probably sit down." He suggested.

"What is it about men thinking pregnant women need to sit down all the time…" I started, but then the pain in my back became stronger again. "Alright, maybe it's not such a bad idea." I added and walked the three steps to the stairs and – with Angela's help – carefully let me sink down on them.

"Bones? What's wrong?" I barely heard Booth's concerned inquiry from the other side of the elevator doors.

"Nothing. Just a back ache." I answered and grimaced. There was no way to get comfortable on the stairs, they were just too hard and cold. I fidgeted a little.

Cullen took off his coat and held it out. "Stuff that behind her back." He said to Angela. Again, Booth's boss surprised me with his thoughtfulness. "Thanks." I pressed through gritted teeth. The back ache was actually getting worse for a moment, but then the pain subsided again and the coat made for a great pillow. I probably should be thankful for the unusual cold and rainy days we had this September or Cullen would not have had a coat to offer me.

"Temperance?" I heard Booth's muffled voice. "Are you really alright? Maybe you should… you know go lie down?"

"I'm good." I answered. "Would you mind getting me some water, Angela?" I asked and she just nodded and went upstairs.

I tensed as the ache in my lower back intensified for a moment, but the pain ebbed away and I felt normal again. Well, as normal as I could manage, sitting on the staircase a few feet away from my boyfriend's boss, who was watching me while Booth was stuck behind those metal doors. The whole situation was odd, to say the least.

I heard Angela's footsteps approach again and soon she appeared with three small bottles of water. She handed me one and wordlessly held out another to Cullen, who took it and thanked her. "Some party." Angela sighed and checked her watch. "Well, at least the others should be here soon and there'll be somebody to help open these doors. Let's just hope the car's not exactly in-between the floors. That would suck."

"Way to cheer me up, Angela." Booth's voice could be heard. We waited for a few moments in complete silence.

"This is so weird." My best friend commented. "And totally the opposite of how I wanted this evening to be for you two."

"I know." I said, nodding at her. "But it's not your fault, Angela." I said, then gritted my teeth as another wave of pain seemed to stab me in my lower back. I tried to adjust my position, but the pain enveloped me for a moment, then just passed away. I sighed a little and opened my eyes. I had not even noticed that I had squeezed them shut.

I blinked and fidgeted uncomfortably as I realised that Cullen was watching me speculatively. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, but he just kept on watching me, which was a little unnerving. Angela started to talk about how she was looking forward to all the gifts we'd be getting. And that she was anxious about our reaction to her gift. I glared at her. "The painting in the nursery is the gift. I told you not to buy anything."

"Oh, but I had to, sweetie…. That stuff is all sooo cute and I just couldn't… you now NOT buy anything." Angela explained, almost apologetically. I rolled my eyes and exhaled slowly as I felt the damn back ache yet again and hoped that I wouldn't have to spend the next three weeks with that kind of pains and aches. It would be hell.

And still, Cullen was watching me, which made me almost nervous. I frowned a little as I realised that the baby DID not warrant my fidgeting and uncomfortable feeling with kicks against my bladder or my kidneys… as usual. Come to think of it, the baby had not kicked me for more than half an hour, which was the longest amount of time I had spent without sensing it's movements in the past two weeks.

"Dr. Brennan," Deputy Director Cullen finally said, his voice low as if he didn't want Booth to overhear. "Are you in labour?"

I gaped at him. "What? No, of course not, I still have three weeks." I hissed.

"Hm." That was all the reaction I got out of Cullen with my statement. That and a clearly disbelieving look.

"Temperance?" I heard Booth's muffled voice. "Why are you whispering?"

"We're not whispering, we're just not yelling at the top of our lungs, Booth." Angela answered cheerfully, but then her concerned gaze connected with mine. "Are you alright?" She asked in a low murmur and watched me more closely. Which was probably the first time she paid me full attention since the 'horrible' news of the elevator being stuck and our guests being forced to walk up.

"You're awfully pale. And there's sweat on your forehead." She commented after a moment.

"Thank you. Just what I wanted to hear." I gave back and touched one hand to my forehead. She had been right… there was a sheen of perspiration on my skin. And suddenly another wave of pain engulfed me, stronger than the one before… radiating from my back to my pelvis, causing me to tense for a moment. A moan escaped my lips before I managed to contain it.

"You ARE in labour." Cullen stated quietly. "No, I'm not." I clenched my teeth. "This is just a back ache. And sitting on this stairs is not making it better, that's all."

Unfortunately I could NOT picture myself walking up the stairs to my apartment right now, either. I frowned. The whole situation was very … unfortunate.

"Sweetie…." Angela gave me her 'I'm worried – look'. "You might want to consider that… he's right." She whispered.

"No." I simply said. I flat out refused to accept this possibility.

"But… I mean… you're obviously in pain, Bren. And as far as I can see it's not constant, right? It comes and goes?" She continued and I grudgingly nodded.

"Sounds an awful lot like labour pains." She murmured.

I forced breath out of my lungs. "No. I still have three weeks. It's too early."

"Bren, you of all people know that some babies come earlier. Look, your Dad even said both you and your brother were born about ten days early." My best friend gently said. "Maybe it just runs in the family."

"No. I refuse to be in labour while Booth is stuck in that elevator." I snapped. Unfortunately I seemed to temporarily have lost control over my voice, maybe because another wave of pain started, a little stronger than the one before. I had intended to talk quietly, so that Booth wouldn't overhear our conversation. Instead, I yelled.

"What? What?" I heard Booth's frantic voice from the other side of the elevator. "You're in labour? Shit. Shit." I heard some shuffling noises. "Damn. I need to get out of here." I heard Booth exclaim. He sounded almost panicked, which was not exactly encouraging.

"Booth!" Cullen thundered. "You calm down now. You're just making it worse."

"But…" I heard him trying to object. "That's an order!" Cullen snapped again. "We'll get you out of there as soon as possible, okay?"

"Yes, sir." I heard Booth answer meekly. "Is she…. Temperance, baby, can you talk to me? Please?"

"Don't call me baby!" I pressed through gritted teeth as another wave of pain crashed into me. I briefly closed my eyes, but quickly blinked them open again, as I felt Angela's arm come around me, supporting me.

"God." Angela exchanged a panicked look with Cullen. "They're coming pretty fast. This… is…ah.." She stopped, clearly for my benefit. Obviously my best friend did not want to frighten me… unfortunately I had already come to my own conclusions.

"Too fast." I choked. "They're coming too fast. This is not supposed to happen this early and not this fast." I squeezed Angela's hand tightly and tried very hard not to panic.

Cullen stared at me for a moment, then he quickly dug out his cell phone and called for an ambulance.

"Oh God." Booth said. Through the haze of the pain that crashed over me in waves and then ebbed away again I could still make out his voice. "Bones, hold on, I'll be there soon, okay?"

I could almost see him, pacing restlessly in the small elevator like a tiger in a cage. "I'm okay. It's going to be okay." I tried to reassure him, but the last word ended in a moan. The pain was getting stronger and the amount of time between the waves of pain was short. Too short.

According to my books, according to my knowledge, my studies of the human body, there was supposed to be a slow build-up, sometimes there were gaps of fifteen minutes in-between the labour pains, at least in the beginning. This felt more like two minutes. Which was…. very frightening. The pain engulfed me again and I tried hard not to cry out. And failed.

"Temperance." I heard Seeley shout, his voice sounding nearly as pained as I felt.

And suddenly, my father knelt beside me. "Tempe, baby…" He said. "My God." He must have come up the stairs. Of course it was now about seven, the time when our party was supposed to start.

Without conscious thought I grabbed his forearm and squeezed tightly. "Help Cullen." I pressed through gritted teeth.

My father gave me a bewildered look. The pain subsided for a moment and I registered how my father and Cullen eyed each other wearily for a moment.

"Booth is in the elevator. I need him. Get him out." I forced out. It was all it took to get the deputy director and the former criminal to co-operate. At another time and place – and in less pain – I would have marvelled at the picture the two of them made, mutely working together. Distantly I registered that one or two of the apartment doors had opened, some of my neighbours curiously peeking out of their apartments. An elderly woman stared at me for a moment, eyes wide, and quickly threw her door shut again. Very helpful neighbours, a sarcastic part of my brain commented.

A few – literally – painful minutes later the two men managed to force the elevator doors open. I blinked, fighting the pain. The elevator car was half-visible behind the doors and before I actually had a chance to even blink, Booth launched himself up and out of the elevator, like.... a missile. I would have laughed at this rather odd comparison, but the pain prevented me from smiling.

"Temperance." In an instant he was beside me, his hand grabbing mine. "God…. Where is this ambulance?" There was panic in his eyes and his voice sounded hoarse.

"I'm going down to meet them and send them up." Cullen announced.

Another wave of pain took possession of me and my nervous system. And then I felt an odd sensation, a feeling I could not quite place at first... then a hot rush and….. I knew. "My water just broke." I croaked.

"Wow… oh, shit… wow." He just whispered, his eyes glued to mine. "Hold on, Bones. The paramedics will be here in no time, okay? .... God, I wish I could help you." He blinked and I saw tears in his eyes.

I focussed on Booth, on his brown eyes, the concern in them. I knew my father was there too, as was Angela, but then Seeley suddenly said. "She'll need her bag. Can you get her bag?" Angela hurried away, getting the bag that was sitting packed and ready beside the door.... had been for weeks now. And I was alone with my father and the father of my unborn child. And afraid. I felt so afraid.

"This is not normal, Booth." I pressed through gritted teeth.

"I know,… but it will be okay. You'll be okay and the baby too." He said, almost pleadingly, trying to convince himself as much as me.

"But.. this …"I started again, but my father just said. "Don't argue. Just believe it. You will be alright." His voice, too, held the distinct note of fear.

I felt more tears gather in my eyes. "Please, Temperance, please be alright." I heard Booth's voice say. "I love you, Bones." He croaked. "And I need you and the baby, so we'll better make sure we'll get you to the hospital real soon."

His eyes darted away from mine for a moment. "God damn it, where ARE these paramedics?" I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing evenly as the pain took over again. Unfortunately I didn't succeed. My breathing was erratic, my body jerking.

"Move aside." I heard a female, oddly familiar voice. I blinked and a face came into focus.

It was Cam.

"Shhh, Temperance, I need you to breathe evenly, okay? Slowly and evenly, yeah, that's good." Cam said, her voice soothing. "Right, you're doing fine. Just breath evenly, relax your body, and don't even think about pushing, alright? Just slow and easy breaths."

"I'm not… giving birth here." I pressed through gritted teeth. That was my plan and I intended to stick to it. I had no desire to give birth on the fourth floor of my building in front of the elevator doors with a growing number of neighbours gawking at the spectacle. No, I told myself, not like that.

"Damn right, you're not." Cam smiled down at me. "You're going to have a nice ride to the hospital and THAT's where you're going to give birth. And that's why you have to breath slowly, just like that…. and don't push, right? You remember that?"

I was in pain, but not an idiot. "I'm not an imbecile." I muttered and Booth gave a harsh, disbelieving laugh. "God, Bones…."

Angela's face appeared and she announced. "I got her bag. And I think I hear the paramedics coming up."

"That's good." Cam smiled down at me reassuringly. "Just remember to breathe slowly, yeah?"

"Will you please move aside?" An unfamiliar voice said and I caught a glimpse of the paramedics, the neutral, distanced expression on their faces. Then I passed out and everything faded to black.

* * *

YES, I know I'm EEEEEEEEEVIL. You probably all hate me now, right? SORRY.

But the next chapter should be up real soon. Reviews would be AWESOME.


	22. Chapter 22

Holey moley…… Hmmm, write a wicked cliffie – get a lot of reviews. There has to be a connection ;)

Thank you all SOOO much for your reviews, so glad you still like this story although most of you were not fond of the cliffie, but hey, sometimes the story just has to be told that way. ;)

* * *

Coming home

Chaper 22:

My unconsciousness could have only lasted for a few minutes, because I became aware of my surroundings again when we were on our way down the stairs. The paramedics had to have strapped me into a carrier, but I didn't remember. Seeley was walking beside me, I heard him quietly talk to Angela and my father.

"Booth." I whispered and I saw his face appear in my range on view. "I'm here, Bones. Right here, okay? I'll be with you all the time, baby."

I did not object to the term of endearment, it barely registered in as I faded in and out of consciousness, the painful contractions coming way too fast. "Scared." I mumbled and Booth made an odd, choking sound. "I know, Temperance. But it's going to be alright. It… has to be."

"If…" I nearly choked on the words I so desperately wanted to utter. "If…something happens…if you have to choose…" I drew in a sharp breath as another wave of pain wrecked my body. "Choose the baby. Not me."

"God… Bones." I heard Booth sigh, his grief-stricken face hovering at the periphery of my vision.

"Promise." I urged him. I knew, I KNEW beyond doubt something had to be wrong… it was not the pain that had me passing out all the time…. It had to be something else, maybe I was bleeding internally. Fear for my child made me close my eyes for a moment, but I blinked them open again to stare at Seeley. I needed this promise.

"Bones, God, please… you have to think positively." He said, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion.

We finally reached the ambulance…. Dimly I registered the crowd of people gathering near the entrance, many of the faces familiar, all of them wearing expressions of surprise and fear.

"Promise." I fixed my gaze on Seeley, on his tear-streaked cheeks, the naked pain in his eyes. All I wanted to hear was that he would let me be a mother. I knew I would gladly die for this child, but he needed to know, too.

"Alright." He nodded and his voice nearly broke. "If that's what you want. But …. I won't lose you, Bones, so …. That's my plan, you know. I want to have you and the baby. You better … stick to it, too. You know, that's what plans are for." I heard the tears in his voice, his need to convince us both that everything was going to be alright. I tried so hard to believe it.

I forced a smile on my face, although it took a lot of effort. "I love you." I whispered, before a kind of black veil shadowed my vision yet again. The last thing I heard was his frantic exclamation "Temperance, stay with me. PLEASE."

* * *

I felt as I was floating, which was very… odd. My eyes were closed, but I could not force them open, it seemed to be way too hard. And I was content with floating, so why the effort. Floating was wonderful.

"Bones?" I heard Seeley's voice invade my peaceful state of mind. There was my incentive. I wanted to see him and talk to him.

I concentrated hard and managed to blink my eyes open on the third attempt. The room – quickly identified as hospital room - was dimly lit, a hazy shade of grey. It was day, or at least dawn. But that was all not important right now… My gaze focussed on Booth, searching his eyes. They were swollen and red and I wondered for a brief moment why.

"Hey Mommy. Glad you're finally awake." He whispered and smiled down at me.

The knowledge that I had had contractions, that there had been complications rushed back into me with full force. A heavy feeling in my chest, a tightness, made me choke. I forced out a. "Am I?" All confusion evaporated quickly, as I feared... feared...

"Awake? Well, I guess you're still pretty…" Seeley said, but I interrupted him. "A mother? Am I?" My voice was hoarse.

"Yes, God, Bones, yes, you are." His eyes suddenly filled with tears again. "It was… a close call, but you're both going to be alright." His voice was thick with emotion.

"The baby… is okay." I forced out and he nodded.

"Yes… she's in the NICU, you know…the…neonatal intensive care unit…but they say she'll be alright." He answered, stumbling a little over the words.

"She." I whispered. It was all I could manage. A girl. Our baby was alright. We had both made it. The concept was still….unfamiliar. Amazing.

"Yes, Temperance. We have a beautiful, tiny girl. Our Angelina." He cried in earnest now and I hardly noticed at first, but I had joined him, silently weeping too.

"I love you so much." Booth sobbed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "And I'm so, so thankful you both made it."

"I am, too." I whispered, still stunned, oddly surprised and fascinated by the tears that streamed down my cheeks.

"Look." Seeley whispered and held out a piece of paper. "Angela drew a sketch of our baby. I took pictures too, but…. she…." I heard him choke. "She wanted you to see Angelina without the incubator and all that stuff."

All my attention was on the piece of paper, the drawing of our baby. Angela had drawn our little girl and signed it with.

_Angelina Christine, __18__th__ September "Your little angel says hi"_

I never believed in angels. And it didn't matter, because at that very moment, I did. And more tears streamed down my face as I touched the face of the tiny infant with my finger tips, but of course felt only the crisp paper instead of soft skin. I longed so much for touching my baby, not just a drawing.

"When can I see her?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"We need to ask the doctor, Bones, you had surgery, you know. But I think they won't be able to hold you for long here, hm?" He smiled. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yeah." I said, my voice hoarse. "She is."

"She has your eyes." He whispered and I shook my head. "Babies usually are born with blue eyes, Booth. The pigmentation…" He silenced me with a gentle kiss. "I know that. She still has your eyes. You know, the shape of your eyes… and…. if she grows up to be only half as beautiful as you, I'll have to hide her until she's… hm, say forty or so. You know, from the boys." There was humour in his voice.

"You just want to make me laugh." I accused him, but I had to smile.

"God, yes. I love it when you laugh, Bones. I'm so happy. I have you and I have our baby and…. I thought I'd lose you both, so life is really great right now." He said sincerely, his voice husky.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." I said. He gave me a disbelieving look. "Bones, I was not scared, I was… terrified. And don't even think about apologising, there was nothing you could have done and it is most certainly not your fault, okay? You.. you nearly died."

His serious tone made me blink, the forcefulness of his words stunned me a little. "Okay." I answered meekly. Then I gathered my courage and asked. "What happened?"

And Booth took my hand in his and started to explain.

"They told me it was a spontaneous, partial placental abruption." I briefly closed my eyes upon hearing his words, he had to have heard them often by now… he didn't stumble over them at all.

Placental abruption… one of my nightmares, one of my biggest fears. The chances for placental abruption for a healthy woman my age usually were not that high, but… I had had premature contractions, too, and that made all the difference.

I swallowed hard, blinked my eyes open again and nodded for him to continue.

"They… God, Bones, they said that I should be thankful for being stuck in the elevator. If you had been resting, you might not have noticed it soon enough, but walking the stairs obviously… you know, sped things up. Helped inducing labour." He shuddered and I squeezed his hand tightly. "They had to perform a c-section. They needed to get out the baby as fast as possible."

I nodded. I knew that. It was common procedure in a case like ours. The baby needed to be delivered as fast as possible, especially since I had been unconscious. "I had internal bleeding, right? From the placental abruption." I said and Booth's eyes widened for a moment, then he nodded, pain in his eyes.

"Yeah. It took them some time to stop it, but they managed. They had to give you blood transfusions. You were in surgery for hours, Bones. God, this… was the longest night of my life." He sighed and squeezed my hand tightly.

"Angelina… " I whispered. "Her… oxygen level… and..."

"Was a little low, but not dramatically so. She is going to be alright. Of course, she's smaller than average… you know, three weeks early, but…well… in fact they said, for a premature delivery she's actually pretty big… and strong. Breathing completely on her own already. She's stubborn. Definitely your daughter."

I had to smile at his words. "As if you were NOT stubborn." I paused, contemplating the information he had given me, but he continued before I could say anything else. "She weighs not quite 6 pounds, and is one foot six inches long"

"That's… " Tiny, I thought…. But I sucked in a deep breath. "Really okay, for .. you know…being preterm." I whispered… and then I nearly yawned. Somehow, this was horrifying… how could I be tired, now that I finally had my child, now that we were able to talk about HER… I somehow felt as if I should be taking care of her, not… thinking of going back to sleep. Guilt rose in me.

"Yeah." He smiled down at me, a gentle expression on his face. "You're still exhausted, Temperance. And you're entitled. Don't worry, okay? Angelina is safe, she is fine. And you need to rest, so I can take you both home as soon as possible." He kissed me softly and all my worries… settled down. They did not vanish, but they became bearable instead of overwhelming.

"Sleep tight, Mommy." He winked at me and I yawned. And went under – again.

* * *

So, let's see, Baby okay - check. Brennan okay - check. I'm not evil, okay? Well, not THAT evil.

Soooo, reviews would be AWESOME. Please tell me what you think about this chapter, okay? THANKS!


	23. Chapter 23

Hello everybody. I want to thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter, so glad you liked it. I'm sorry that I didn't update for so long, but my life was kind of crazy for the past weeks. Nothing dramatic happened, just a lot of small things piling on each other and…. well, I guess you know how it sometimes works. But here I am again and I hope you still like to read more.

THANKS!

* * *

Coming home

Chapter 23:

They managed to keep me away from my little girl for two days. The first day I mostly spent sleeping, so it wasn't that hard, but the second day was pure torture. And not because of the pain of the wound, no, mostly because of the separation of my child. She still had to stay at the NICU, for at least another week and I ached so much for her it surprised me.

I should have known that there was that primal instinct in me, I was a mother now, after all. I should have anticipated this, but still, the depth of my need surprised me. And made me cranky and demanding. Quickly I learned that harassing the nurses didn't help my case much, so I asked to see my doctor. Pleaded to see my baby.

He wouldn't give in. The young man stood in front of my bed, his gaze skimming over my medical chart and I wanted to strangle him for not letting me see my daughter. "I need to see her." I repeated for the third time.

"I'm sorry, Miss Brennan, but your condition is still not stable enough. You've undergone surgery and had internal bleeding. We have to be very careful not to rupture your stitches." He said, his voice clinically detached, his 'I'm sorry' sounding as emotional as if he was reading it off my chart. People had accused me of being cold in my past. Maybe I had come across a little like this doctor, but I hadn't understood back then. I did now. I needed to see my child.

It was vital, something I could not just ignore or explain away. I glared at the man. "You don't have children, right?"

"No, I don't have children. Which doesn't have anything to do with your condition." He answered.

"No, but with your ability to understand. I need to see my baby. I don't care if it hurts and I'll do my best not to rupture any stitches, but I need to see my child. And if you say no, I'll just try to get to the NICU by myself when nobody's here." I threatened, trying not to sound as weak and exhausted as I felt.

"You are not going to do anything like that!" He exclaimed, horrified now. "You're in no condition to be wandering around the hospital."

"So get me a wheelchair and make sure somebody's with me." I gave back.

"No." He shook his head.

"Then you'll have to lock me in here. Which would be against the law and I'll sue you." I glared at him.

"I don't understand you. You know that your daughter is doing fine, better than expected, actually. Let yourself heal. Do you really want to risk your life just to see her? You won't be any good to her if you start bleeding again. " The young doctor finally asked, abandoning his mask of careful indifference.

I shook my head. How could I ever make him understand? I knew my daughter was fine. Seeley, my father and Angela were giving me updates on her condition all the time. Seeley should be coming down from the NICU any moment now, but the information – though welcome – didn't give me what I needed. Contact. I needed contact. I ached for it, so much that suddenly tears gathered in my eyes. A part of me was annoyed at myself for crying in front of the doctor, but I couldn't help it. Hormones, I told myself.

"You don't understand." I exploded, sobbing. "I feel so empty. I carried her in me for months, felt her every move, felt when she hiccupped, EVERYTHING. And now there is nothing, just…… I need contact, okay? I need to feel her, I can't stand this anymore." I cried, knowing that the post-natal hormones were fuelling the fire, helping my break-down along. And still, I couldn't do anything about it.

"I need my baby. I feel so… empty and I need to touch her. To feel her." I whispered between sobs. I heard the door to my room burst open and I blinked. My vision was blurred, but I saw Booth scowling at the doctor. The doctor was looking horrified… maybe because of my outburst or because of Booth's lethal stare. I didn't care.

"Temperance, baby…." He came over to my bed and carefully took my hands in his. "Just calm down, okay…" Then he glared at the doctor again. "What the hell did you do?"

The young doctor paled and held up his palms as if surrendering. "Nothing…. Ah…. She keeps on insisting she wants to see her child, but I think it's too risky."

"I need her, Seeley. I feel so…" I whispered and he hushed me. "I heard you, Bones. I heard what you said to him. I understand." He dropped a kiss to my forehead and straightened again, his gaze fixed to young doctor.

"Make it happen." He just said.

"What?" The doctor blinked.

"She needs to see her baby. Make it happen. Make sure there's as little risk as possible. She is allowed to leave the bed to go for a few steps, that's what the nurse told me, right? So two steps to the wheelchair shouldn't be a problem." Seeley said, his voice flat.

"But… but.. there is still a risk and…" The young man stammered.

"She knows that and still wants to see her chid. You're not going to be able to keep her away from Angelina for any longer, so we'll make the best of the situation and try to minimize the risk. She's not going to be able to relax until she sees her baby with her own eyes… and seeing as we can't move Angelina away from the NICU, we have to bring her mother to her. Simple." Booth narrowed his eyes at the doctor.

"I…" The young man still hesitated.

"I'm sure she threatened to just take off when nobody's here." Booth smiled. "Of course I did." I said right at the same time the doctor nodded.

"It's not an empty threat. When she says something she means it." Seeley said and understanding dawned on the young man's face. He regarded me thoughtfully and I was pretty sure he tried to evaluate my chances of being alone for long enough to pull out the IV and just sneak out.

"I would make it to the elevator in a few minutes and your nurses can't be everywhere." I said, smiling sweetly.

"Damn." The young man muttered. Resignation swung in his voice as he said. "Fine. But first, you'll rest for at least another hour. You're agitated right now. And you're only allowed to get up if you're blood pressure is okay. You'll go in a wheelchair and your husband will stay with you all the time and at the slightest sign of pain you WILL let somebody know and return to your room. Are we clear on that?"

His transformation into a bossy nurse actually amused me for a moment. I didn't bother to correct him about Booth not being my husband either. I just nodded.

The doctor glared at us for a moment, then left my room.

Seeley grinned. "In the end he sounded a lot like my grandmother." He sat down on the visitor's chair beside my bed and regarded me thoughtfully, the smile on his face vanishing. "You look exhausted, Temperance. I know you want to see Angelina, but … we really need to be careful, okay? I don't want you to need more surgery."

I sighed. "I know. It's just… I need to see her, Seeley. I just…" He interrupted me.

"I know. I understand… well, probably not completely, but I'm trying. But you really should be resting now. One hour of sleep, how does that sound? I'll grab a bite in the cafeteria and be back later, okay?" He suggested. I really felt tired so I nodded mutely and he kissed me and left my room. He had barely closed the door when I fell asleep.

One hour and ten minutes later I was sitting in a wheelchair, nervously biting my bottom lip as the glass doors of the NICU opened with a swishing sound. Getting into the wheelchair had been painful, but now I felt fine. Sure, the wound of the C-section still hurt, but not that much. Not more than it had before. I figured that was a good sign.

And now I was so close to finally seeing my daughter for the first time, my hands were shaking a little.

Booth slowly pushed my wheelchair inside the NICU, greeting the nurse. He obviously was already familiar with the nurses, but that wasn't really a surprise. He had come here often in the past two days.

The middle-aged woman regarded me with a broad smile.

"Ahhh, you're here to meet your baby girl, right? So glad to see you're well enough to come up here. You had C-section, right?" Her voice was cheerful but understanding.

I nodded. "Yes. Placental disruption. Emergency C-section and then surgery because of internal bleeding. "

"Oh, dear, right, your husband told me. Poor thing. So, you haven't seen her, you were still anesthetized." She said. I just nodded, since my throat seemed unable to produce a sound.

"Well, that's a good coincidence then, that Dr. Corwin just told me we could take her out of the incubator for a few minutes when her Daddy would come see her the next time. You know, snuggling with the parents is really good for the little ones, if they're stable enough." She chatted on happily while opening the door to a warmly lit room with a few incubators.

"I can hold her?" I choked, not believing it, not sure I had heard right. I felt Booth squeeze my shoulder lightly while he pushed my wheelchair inside the room.

"Just for a few minutes." She said, but nodded. "And here we are…. Little Angelina, your mummy's finally here. Oh, look, she's even awake." I heard the nurse say, but my eyes were on the incubator and the small infant inside.

My eyes filled with tears as I looked at my daughter for the first time and her head turned, as if she wanted to meet my gaze. Which was impossible of course, seeing as she wouldn't even be able to SEE me much less understand what was going on. The rational part of my mind told me all that, but in that very moment, my heart nearly stopped and the mother in me took over. "Hey baby." I whispered.

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Reviews would be awesome… I really hoped you like this chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

Thank you all so much for your kind words, glad you're still interested in this story. So many reviews after all the time it took me to update... I'm overwhelmed.

I also want to thank the anonymous reviewers, whom I can't send answers, as I do with all the other reviews I get (or try to at least). Thank you!

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Coming Home

Chapter 24

Somehow the moments until the nurse finally placed my baby in my arms didn't quite register in. I watched how she disconnected one of the diverse tubes and cables, observed how she gently wrapped my little girl in a soft blanket… but it seemed distant and pale until she turned to carefully lower the infant into my arms.

I stared down at her, at that tiny nose, her rosy face and before I even knew what was happening, a tear trickled down my face. My baby, finally in my arms, were it belonged. The uneasy, chilling feeling of emptiness and abandonment that had subconsciously plagued me all the time vanished and was replaced with the warmth of joy and wonder.

The nurse retreated, but I didn't really notice her absence until much later. What I noticed, however, was that Seeley knelt beside me, one hand on my shoulder, the other supporting my arm that held our child. It was as close as we could get to a family-embrace with the frame of the wheelchair between us and my stitches to think of. It had to be enough.

We spent some time in awe-struck silence, simply enjoying that we were together.

After some time, Angelina fussed a little, but calmed after I murmured soothing words to her.

"She is a little beauty, don't you think so too?" Seeley asked, his voice hoarse.

"Of course. She's our child. Parents always think their offspring is the most beautiful." I answered automatically, still staring down at the little girl, mesmerized by the sight of her unfocussed gaze, the shape of her tiny mouth. I was dimly aware of Booth's chuckle upon my reply, but the sight of my daughter held my attention. Her lips parted and she let out a small noise, something that almost sounded like a cat meowing. I had to smile.

"I love you, little Angelina." I whispered to the baby. She blinked lazily, then her eyes closed and she fell asleep. I closed my eyes for a moment and simply savoured the feeling of her sleeping in my arms. "Here. You have to hold her too." I said after a long moment, looking at Seeley.

"Are you sure? We only get fifteen minutes and I know how much you need this." He gave me a concerned look, but I also saw the underlying longing. She was, after all, his daughter too and he hadn't had the privilege of feeling her every movement for months. The connection the baby and I already had was yet to be built between the two of them.

"She's your daughter, Seeley. She needs her Dad, too." I simply said. He nodded, his eyes glistening just as mine did again, and reached for her. We gently, carefully transferred our daughter to his arms and he sank down in front of my wheelchair, simply sitting on the floor with our baby sheltered in his arms. It was a sight so tender and wonderful it made my chest ache with love for both of them.

"Hi, Angelina. It's your Daddy." He whispered to the baby. "I'm so glad I get to hold you… and that your mother is finally well enough to see you too. The doctor's didn't want her to leave her room, but she's pretty stubborn." He lifted his gaze and his eyes met mine for a moment, then he looked down at the baby again. "I love your mother, little angel. And I love you and your brother. You're going to meet him soon. He's been a little disappointed that you're not a boy, but I told him little sisters are pretty cool too, so he doesn't mind anymore."

I had to chuckle when I heard how Seeley told Angelina about Parker. "Parker's going to be a great big brother." I said and Booth's gaze met mine again. I saw a mix of emotions in his eyes, too many of them for me to decipher. "I'm a lucky guy, Bones. I have a wonderful son and now I also have a beautiful daughter. And I have you." He said seriously.

Before I could reply anything, the nurse came back into the room. "I'm sorry but the time is up. We need to get her tucked in again."

Reluctantly, Booth handed over our daughter to the nurse.

A few moments later we stared at our baby, once again in the incubator, her breathing and pulse supervised, her tiny feet kicking a little. Our child. A wonder… if you believe in something like that.

"We need to get you back now." Booth said. "You need to rest, Temperance."

I didn't want to. I never wanted to leave my daughter, I wanted to stay there, watch her sleep, hold her in my arms again…. but I nodded anyway. Soon, I was going to be healthy again and she was going to be released from the NICU and then…then we would have all the time in the world together.

"I don't want to leave her…" I whispered. "But I know I have to." I sighed and looked at our child. "Bye, Angelina. I love you. I'll be back."

Booth waved at the baby… which was of course futile, since she was asleep and wouldn't be able to interpret the gesture anyway. "Bye, little angel. Sleep tight."

Then he moved behind my wheelchair, but instead of starting to push, his strong arms came around me, careful not to squeeze me too tightly. "I know this is hard for you, but there is nothing we can do. Just think of how wonderful it will be when we're at home with her. I want to spend a whole day just lying in bed with you watching her sleep." He dropped a kiss on my head… my unwashed hair that had to be a tangled mass and look – and most likely also smell - awful. He didn't seem to mind. "I love you, Bones. Now let's get you back to bed." His gentle words calmed my inner turmoil a little and I relaxed.

I was half-asleep when we reached my room and after Booth helped me back into my bed, the nurse checked my stitches. She was satisfied with what she saw, but still gave me a lecture on being careful and staying in bed for the rest of the day. As if I would want to roam the hospital just for the fun of it.

My exhaustion had to be evident, because Seeley kissed me and told me to rest. "I'm going to come back later. Parker asked if he can visit you after school today. Is that alright?" I gave a tired nod. "Of course." I mumbled.

"Sleep, Temperance." He murmured. And I did…. before he had even left my room, darkness claimed me.

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"Hush" I heard somebody murmur. "She's asleep. Let's come back later." The voice was very familiar.

I blinked my eyes open and tried to clear my head of the cobwebs. The pain killers they gave me made me sleepy and disorientated and waking up was a much longer process than usual.

"Seeley?" I asked.

"Bones!" The youthful voice exclaiming my name was familiar too.

"Hey Parker." I said and smiled at the boy. Booth and his son moved near to my bed. Parker hesitated a little, then he frowned, looking at me. "Your tummy is smaller." He looked a little confused for a moment.

I nodded. "I know. You remember how we talked about this? Angelina is not in there anymore."

"Right." Parker nodded. "We've seen her. I got to touch her hand." He inclined his head. "She's awfully small. Will she grow?"

I had to smile. "Sure. We all start as babies, Parker, and then grow up. She's small now, but she'll be a lot bigger in a few years."

"You started as baby, too, Daddy?" The concept seemed still very outlandish to the seven-year-old, although we had talked about it repeatedly.

"Yep." Seeley nodded. "But that was a long time ago, champ."

"Guess so." Parker nodded. "You're old now." I had to giggle at Booth's consternated look. "Thanks, buddy." He said after a moment, but his eyes warmed when he looked at me, obviously satisfied with the grin on my face.

"I talked to Angelina, but she was asleep." Parker announced after a moment.

"Babies sleep a lot, Parker. But I'm sure she heard your voice. That's important, you know… to hear familiar voices." I said to him and he nodded thoughtfully, then his eyes widened as another thought entered his mind.

"Daddy said you needed to get stitches. Did you hurt yourself?" Parker inquired.

Booth and I exchanged a look. "Sometimes babies can not be born like they should, Parker." I explained slowly. "The doctors were concerned something was wrong with Angelina, so they had to cut open my tummy to get her out as quickly as possible."

Parker's eyes were wide. "Didn't it hurt?"

"They gave me something so I fell asleep at that time." I answered… which was only the half of the truth. I had actually been unconscious due to blood loss when they had anesthetized me. But the little boy didn't need to know that. "And now they're giving me something against the pain. It's not so bad." I said and Parker nodded again, taking in the information.

"But Angelina is okay? There is nothing wrong with her?" He asked after some time.

"No, buddy." Seeley said, his big hand on his son's shoulder. "They doctors were fast enough so that both Bones and Angelina are going to be fine." He tried to sound cheerful, but I heard a slight tremor in his voice. A quick glance at his face confirmed my suspicion… he remembered the fear we both had felt when I had went in labour so unexpectedly, when we had known something had to be wrong. I could only guess how excruciating the hours of waiting had to have been for him. I reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "We're all going to be well." I said and Booth nodded. "Thank God."

I didn't quite agree with thanking some mythical entity, but I was thankful all the same. Thankful for being part of a family now.

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Soooo, please tell me, did you like this chapter? I hope so...

REVIEWS WOULD BE AWESOME!


	25. author's note

**Author's note - Author's note - Author's note - Author's note - Author's note - Author's note - **

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Hey everyone…

First of all, I'M SORRY, but this is NO UPDATE.

You're a bunch of wonderful people and I'm grateful that you're so patient and still stick with my stories….

Unfortunately right now I'm not able to update… Life keeps on coming in the way. I'm insanely busy, tomorrow I have to leave for another business trip. I have hardly time to catch my breath, let alone write anything coherent. And – as I'm sure you understand – the little free time I have I like to spend with my fiancé and my cats, too.

After this business trip, however, things should calm down a little… but I'll be on vacation for a week in June… In between all those things I hope to be able to update my stories… I do have plans for Coming Home, Undercover(s) and even the older ones…. I just don't have enough time.

In case anybody out there invented a way to exist without sleep and still function properly, let me know…

Then I might be able to write more often…

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope to be able to write new chapters soon.

A virtual hug to all Bones-Fans!!!

CheeseBK


	26. Chapter 26

author's note!

hello all

I'm sorry that I have to disappoint you again, there will be no updates in the near future. I thought things were looking good, but fate just slapped is in the face. Again.

A good friend of our family - in fact my dad's cousin - just got diagnosed with very aggressive brain cancer. surgery impossible, only weeks left. his son is one of my best friends.

I don't know if I will be able to be online much, as I will try my best to be supportive.

Thank you for understanding.

CheeseBK


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